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Recollections of the 
Civil War 

With Many Original Diary Entries and Letters 

Written from the Seat of War, and with 

Annotated References 



By 

Mason Whiting Tyler 

Late Lieut. -Colonel and Brevet-Colonel, 37th Reg't Mass. Vols. 



Edited by 
William S. Tyler 



j 

With Maps and Illustrations 



G. P. Putnam's Sons 

New York and London 

Zbe Hmfckerbocfcer press 

1912 



6 1 

.7 






Copyright, 1912 

BY 

WILLIAM S. TYLER 



TEbe ftnicfeerbocftcr press, flew iL'orl: 



(F* n a 'i -i n a s a » / 



PREFACE 

AT the time of his death, my father was nearing the 
completion of a first draft of his manuscript, 
which, if he had lived, would have been continued to 
the conclusion of the war, and then carefully revised 
in the light of his lifelong study of the historical events. 
In the loss of a more perfect historical whole, we have 
gained much that might not have survived a careful 
revision. 

In this first written expression of his recollections 
and studies of the War time, while as yet he had not 
a perspective of the book as a whole, his reminiscent 
moods have led him back over those paths prima- 
rily, where his interest was most intense, and the depth 
of the impressions and intensity of the feelings have 
been the impulses which for the most part determined 
what the subjects should be and how much should be 
said of them. While not a history as a whole, events 
so selected and so related have a peculiar historical 
value of their own. There are many histories of the 
war and autobiographies of great generals, but au- 
tobiographies of the soldier in the camp and in the 
ranks are few. The life of the nation has overshad- 
owed for the time the lives of the men who saved the 
nation ; but it is the men for whom the nation is worth 
saving, and whose lives in the war are mere incidents 
of histories, who are the subject of this unfinished story 
bv one of the soldiers. 



iv Preface 

In fairness to the author who did not live to correct 
and perfect his work, an effort has been made to verify 
each event. The task has been arduous and difficult, 
and the results, which in some cases are unsatisfactory, 
and for which the author is in no way responsible, are 
shown by references in foot-notes to the authorities. 

Chapter XIII. concludes the manuscript, as he wrote 
it, and the remaining chapters continue the story as 
told in his letters, written during the war in the midst of 
the scenes which they relate, on the march and on the 
battle-field. The style is quite different, and the lan- 
guage, which is not always approved, is retained for the 
sake of the freshness and vigor of the story as the soldier 
told it, at the time, to his family and friends at home. 
As these letters have their own historical value and 
peculiar interest, free use of them has been made also 
in the footnotes in the earlier chapters. 

The historical introductions to the later chapters, 
and many of the connecting links of historical explana- 
tion therein, were written by the author's college class- 
mate and lifelong friend, the Reverend Calvin Stebbins, 
who has bestowed time and labor unsparingly upon all 
parts of the work. 

W. S. T. 

New York, 
April, 1912. 



M 



BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE 1 

ASON WHITING TYLER was born at Amherst, 
Massachusetts, June 17, 1840. His father, 
William Seymour Tyler, was for over sixty years Pro- 
fessor of Greek at Amherst College and was a man of 
great learning and industry. He taught every member 
of fifty-one successive classes. Harvard University 
conferred upon him both the degrees of D.D. and LL.D., 
although in only two other instances had that univer- 
sity honored one man with both degrees. The latter 
degree was conferred upon him at the celebration of 
Harvard's 250th anniversary in 1886. 

Colonel Tyler's ancestry is interesting, as it cov- 
ered the earliest period of New England Colonial his- 
tory. Among his ancestors may be mentioned the 
Mayflower pilgrim, William Bradford, second Governor 
of Plymouth Colony; Thomas Hinckley, Governor of 
Plymouth Colony from 1680 to 1692; Thomas Welles, 
Colonial Governor of Connecticut, 1655 to 1656 and 1658 
to 1659; Major-General John Mason, the hero of the 
Pequot War and Commander-in-Chief of the Colonial 
forces in Connecticut; Thomas Willet, in 1647 the suc- 
cessor of Miles Standish as Captain of the Military 
Company of Plymouth Colony, and in 1665 first Mayor 
of the city of New York. Of the grantees named in the 
Royal Charter of Connecticut, 1662, Colonel Tyler was 

1 Extract from Report of the New York State Bar Association, vol. 
xxxi., 1908, p. 459. 



vi Biographical Note 

descended from four: John Mason, Richard Treat, 
Anthony Hawkins, and Thomas Welles. Twenty of 
Colonel Tyler's New England ancestors were Puritan 
ministers, among them Rev. Thomas Hooker, called 
by Mather in his Magnolia, "The light of the western 
churches"; Rev. Thomas Thacher, first pastor of the 
Old South Church, Boston; Rev. Jonathan Edwards, 
whom John Fiske calls "Probably the greatest intel- 
ligence that the western hemisphere has yet seen"; 
Rev. James Pierpont, one of the founders of Yale 
College; Rev. Samuel Whiting, the first minister of 
Lynn, and his wife, Elizabeth St. John, who was the 
sister of Oliver St. John, Lord Chief Justice of England 
under Cromwell, of whom Campbell says in his lives 
of Chief Justices, "With the exception of Oliver Crom- 
well he had more influence on the events which marked 
the great constitutional struggle of the 17th century 
than any leader who appeared on the side of Parliament. 
He was the first Englishman who ever seriously planned 
the establishment of a Republican form of government 
in this country." 

Six of Colonel Tyler's ancestors were Revolutionary 
patriots: Robert Ogden, speaker of the New Jersey 
Colonial Assembly; Timothy Edwards; Dr. William 
Whiting, who was prominent for his services and ex- 
periments in the manufacture of gunpowder for the Con- 
tinental Army ; Lieutenant Jonathan Seymour ; Captain 
John Tyler, and Deacon John Tyler, Jr. Other ances- 
tors of interest might be mentioned such as Cornells 
Melyn, in 1642 made Patroon of Staten Island under 
the Dutch. 

Colonel Tyler was brought up in the college town of 
Amherst. His father was widely known as a teacher 
and scholar, and most of the distinguished visitors of 



Biographical Note vii 

the college were at one time or another entertained at 
the old home, which was in this and many other ways 
possessed of rare advantages for the sons of whom 
Colonel Tyler was the oldest. He prepared for college 
at Amherst Academy and at Williston Seminary, East- 
hampton, Mass. He entered college in 1858. He was 
a member of the Psi Upsilon Fraternity, to which his 
father, his three brothers, and his two sons have also 
belonged, and in which he always took the greatest 
interest, being prominent in its councils, and earnestly 
active in its welfare. In scholarship he stood well. He 
was Commencement orator, and a member of the Phi 
Beta Kappa Society. From i860 to 1862 he was also 
Class President. On July 10, 1862, he was graduated 
with the degree of A.B., and three years later received 
the degree of A.M. 1 



At the close of the war he returned to civil life and 
took up the study of law in Columbia College Law 
School, 1865-66, was admitted to the bar in 1866, and 
then practised three years in the law office of Evarts, 
Southmayd & Choate. In 1869 he formed a partner- 
ship with General Henry E. Tremain, under the firm 
name of Tremain & Tyler. In 1893 he formed a new 
partnership under the name of Tyler & Durand, and in 
1903 that of Tyler & Tyler, consisting of himself and 
his two sons. 

He conducted many important cases, one of the most 
famous of which was the suit of Marie v. Garrison, 

1 His enlistment and service in the Civil War, covering the three 
years immediately after his graduation from college in July, 1862, are 
the subject of the story contained in this volume. 



viii Biographical Note 

resulting in the recovery of over a million dollars. 
Tremain & Tyler were the attorneys for the importers 
in the famous "hat trimmings" cases, Hartranft v. 
Langfeld (125 U.S., 128), Robertson v. Edelhoff (132 
U.S., 614), and others, resulting in the recovery by his 
firm of several million dollars from the government. 
They were counsel in the sugar importation cases, 
Whitney v. Robertson (124 U.S., 190). He was also 
prominent in the removal cases (100 U.S., 457), and 
as counsel in Pacific Railroad v. Ketchum (101 U.S., 
289). He was connected with important business enter- 
prises; President of the Cumberland Coal and Iron 
Company, and director of the Columbus and Hocking 
Coal and Iron Company, and was many years director 
and Vice-President of the Rossendale-Reddaway Belting 
and Hose Company. But he was most active in public 
enterprises and benevolences. Instrumental in found- 
ing the Plainfield Public Library and Reading Room in 
1880, the second to be founded in the State of New 
Jersey, he was its President until his death ; was promoter 
and first President of the Organized Aid Association of 
Plainfield and North Plainfield; was also one of the 
early Trustees of the Muhlenberg Hospital; President 
of the Music Hall Association, and President of the 
Anti-Racetrack Association of New Jersey. No worthy 
cause of public interest in Plainfield went without his 
support. He was also one of the Trustees of Amherst 
College, 1901-1907. He became a member of the New 
York State Bar Association in 1890. He was also a 
member of the Society of the Mayflower Descendants 
in New York and New Jersey, and Governor of the New 
Jersey Society ; a member of the New Jersey Historical 
Society, and of the Societies of the Sons of the Revo- 
lution, Colonial Wars, and Colonial Governors, and a 




MASON W. TYLER IN 1907. 

From a photograph by Gessford. 



Biographical Note ix 

member of the New York Commandery of the Military 
Order of the Loyal Legion, and numerous other societies 
and clubs. 

Colonel Tyler married on December 29, 1869, Eliza 
Margaret Schroeder, of New Milford, Conn., a woman 
of rare beauty of person and character, with whom he 
lived most happily until her death, only nine months 
before his own. She was the daughter of Rev. John 
Frederick Schroeder, D.D., of Trinity Parish, New York 
City, from 1823 to 1839, who won for himself a reputa- 
tion of being one of the most learned and able preachers 
in New York City. Mrs. Tyler's grandfather was 
Elijah Boardman, a Revolutionary soldier and one of 
the early United States Senators from Connecticut. 
Colonel Tyler's sons William S. and Cornelius B. Tyler 
are both members of the New York Bar. 

Colonel Tyler died suddenly July 2, 1907, in the 
Presbyterian Hospital, New York, three weeks after 
an operation from which he was supposed to have 
recovered. 

General Tremain, his law partner for twenty-four 
years, said of him: "His was one of those rare natures 
who, in business or in social life, radiate the benevo- 
lences of humanity and goodness and peace that dispel 
the shadows of evil. He was a patriotic soldier, an 
honored citizen, a beloved husband and father." 



xii Contents 

CHAPTER PAGE 

XI. — The Significance of the Battles of the 

Wilderness and Spottsylvania . . 200 

XII. — After Spottsylvania, North Anna and 

Cold Harbor, May 13-JuNE 12, 1864 . 203 

XIII. — From Cold Harbor to Petersburg, June 

12-17, 1864 216 

XIV. — The Richmond Campaign, Petersburg, 

June 17-JuLY 7, 1864 . . . 222 

XV. — To the Defence of Washington . 240 

XVI. — From Washington to Halltown, to 
Frederick and back to Halltown, 
July 25-September 18, 1864 . . 253 

XVII. — The Battle of Winchester, September 

19, 1864 ...... 274 

XVIII. — At Winchester, September 20-December 

12, 1864 284 

XIX. — Petersburg, December 7, 1864-JuLY 2, 

1865 315 

Conclusion 343 

Appendix — Sixth Corps at the Bloody Angle 

ist Brigade, ist Division (ist N. J.) . . 349 

2nd " ist " (Upton's) . . 352 

3rd " ist " (Russell's) . . 355 

4th " 1st " (shaler's or 

Cross's) 357 



Contents xiii 

Appendix — Continued 















PAGE 


1ST 


Brigade, 


2ND 


Division 


(Wheaton's) 


• 


358 


2ND 


i i 


2ND 


" 


(Vermont) 


• 


36l 


3RD 


■ i 


2ND 


i < 


(Bidwell's) 




362 


4TH 


<( 


2ND 


ii 


(Eustis's or 
Edwards' 


s) 


364 


1ST 


<< 


3RD 


ii 


(Morris's) 


• 


365 


2ND 


ii 


3RD 


< < 


(Smith's or 

Keifer' 


s) 


366 



Index 369 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

OPPOSITE PAGE 

Colonel Mason Whiting Tyler, . Frontispiece 

From a photograph, 1888. 

Mason W. Tyler viii 

From a photograph, 1907. 

Samuel C. Vance, Rufus P. Lincoln, and Mason 

W. Tyler (group) 78 

From a tintype, March, 1863. 

Captain Mason W. Tyler 120 

From a photograph, 1863 or 1864. 

Captain Mason W. Tyler . . . .318 

From a photograph, 1864. 

MAPS 

The Salient at Spottsylvania . . . .198 

The Battlefield of Spottsylvania Court House At End 

The Field of Operations of the 37TH Mass. 
Regiment as far South as Spottsylvania 
Court House At End 

The Field of Operations of the 37TH Mass. 
Regiment from Spottsylvania to Peters- 
burg At End 



BOOKS REFERRED TO: ABBREVIATIONS 

"O. R.": "War of The Rebellion. Official Records of the 
Union and Confederate Armies." Government Print- 
ing Office, Washington. 130 volumes. 

"War Maps": Atlas to accompany the Official Records 
(above). 3 volumes. 

Grant's Memoirs and Sheridan's Memoirs are the "Per- 
sonal Memoirs" of the two generals, published by- 
Charles L. Webster & Co., N. Y., the one 1886 and the 
other 1888. 

"Bowen" : "History of the Thirty-seventh Regiment Mass. 
Volunteers," by James L. Bowen, 1884. 

"Rhodes": "History of the United States," in seven 
volumes. Harper & Bros., 1893. 



Recollections of the Civil War 



INTRODUCTION 

I HAVE frequently been asked by members of my 
family and by personal friends to put into some 
permanent form the story of my experience in the great 
Civil War, usually called the War of the Rebellion. I 
am fully aware that in that struggle there were hun- 
dreds, perhaps thousands, of young men, who had just 
as interesting experiences as I had, and hundreds, per- 
haps) thousands, of others who passed through much 
more thrilling experiences. In fact, mine was not an 
exceptional, but a very common experience. 

The war was, however, a very extraordinary war. 
Nothing like it ever occurred before, and I doubt if 
anything like it will ever happen again. It was a war 
between the respective champions of free and slave 
labor, living under the only successful experiment in 
republican government which up to that time the world 
had seen. Their ancestors had taken possession of this 
continent and occupied different portions of it for the 
purpose of exploiting the institutions of constitutional 
liberty. Together they had achieved independence 
from foreign control. Together they had built a great 
and powerful nation. 



2 Recollections of the Civil War 

But two civilizations had grown up, one in the North, 
the other in the South; one based on free labor, the 
other on slave labor; one devoted to commerce and 
manufactures, the other to agriculture; one, under" the 
influence of Northern skies, developed a race cold and 
phlegmatic; and in the other, under Southern influences, 
an impulsive and domineering people was developed. 
Originally they both agreed that slavery was wrong. 
But in the North slave labor was always unprofitable, 
while in the South, after the invention of the cotton gin, 
it became exceedingly profitable, and as the North had 
largely shared in the profits of the slave trade, which 
was mainly responsible for the rapid growth of slavery 
in the South, the South naturally felt that if slavery was 
wrong, it did not lie in the mouths of their Northern 
neighbors and fellow-countrymen to reproach them on 
account of it. Further than this, when slave labor 
became profitable it was very easy for them to convince 
themselves that human slavery was not wrong, and 
they soon began to defend it as a divinely ordained 
institution, and to claim for it supremacy in the gov- 
ernment and throughout the United States. They 
were not satisfied with having it simply a domestic 
institution limited to the Southern States ; they wanted 
to make it a national institution, and to spread it over 
all the States. They exultantly boasted that Cotton 
was King, and entitled to rule the world. So great 
did their influence become that Congress passed an act 
compelling the Northerner to catch and return the 
Southerner's fugitive slaves, and finally the Supreme 
Court came under its power and handed down a decision 
declaring that the black man was a chattel. In accom- 
plishing this the South acted as a unit, while the North 
was divided. 



Introduction 3 

The cotton mills of the North depended on the South 
for supplies, and Northern merchants sold goods in the 
South, bought and shipped the cotton, the sugar, and 
the turpentine of the South abroad. Many of them 
were dealers in slaves, and they and their ancestors 
had made fortunes in the slave-trade and in furnishing 
supplies for the slave population and market. These 
elements, united with a solid South, served to keep the 
political powers of the country in the control of the 
party that sympathized with the South and was much 
the smaller section. Thus, during the greater part of 
the first sixty years of the nineteenth century, the 
government of the United States was controlled by the 
South and its allies from the North, and during the last 
half of that period the Southern leaders were struggling 
like Titans to acquire new territory and add distinc- 
tively slave States to the Union, that they might 
increase their vote in Congress and in the Electoral 
College. 

In 1856, the Republican party planted itself squarely 
on the platform, "No more slave territory," and two 
years later, in 1858, Abraham Lincoln announced that 
"a house divided against itself cannot stand," and pro- 
claimed that the vital question before the American 
people was, "Whether the United States should be all 
slave or all free." No middle ground was possible. 
In i860, Lincoln was elected President on the Repub- 
lican platform and his own proclaimed prophecy. The 
South at once seceded, and fired on Fort Sumter. It 
was the beginning of a war which in four years filled six 
hundred thousand graves with men in the prime of life. 



CHAPTER I 

EARLY RECOLLECTIONS, AND THE FIRST 
WEEKS OF CIVIL WAR 

I WAS born June 17, 1840, at Amherst, Massachusetts. 
My father was at the head of the Greek Department 
in Amherst College for nearly sixty years. It would be 
hard to find a more quiet and peaceful hamlet of twenty- 
five hundred inhabitants than Amherst was in my boy- 
hood days. There was not a public bar nor a drinking 
saloon in the town. There was not a man in the town 
worth one hundred thousand dollars. They mostly 
owned the houses they lived in, and if the houses had 
mortgages on them they were gradually paying them off. 
No family had more than one servant; most of them, 
not any servants. One of the principal industries of 
the place was furnishing board to the students of the 
college. There were few wealthy students. Many of 
the students were working their way through college 
to become ministers or missionaries. The price of 
board ranged from seventy-five cents to two dollars and 
a quarter a week. 

The climate in winter was very severe. For three or 
four months deep snows and ice held sway. Furnaces 
even in public buildings were unknown in those days. 
Huge cast-iron stoves heated large rooms, while smaller 
rooms trusted to the efficiency of open fireplaces, and 
later to the sheet iron air-tight stoves. The halls and 

4 



First Weeks of Struggle 5 

the sleeping-rooms (except the room called the nursery) 
were as cold as the outer atmosphere. Wood was the 
only fuel. 

As my father's salary was small, every member of the 
family was expected to contribute his or her share 
towards carrying on the domestic establishment. My 
three brothers and I worked the garden in summer 
(which comprised nearly an acre of ground), raised 
vegetables and fruit, harvested the hay, took care of a 
horse, a cow, and the chickens, sawed the wood and 
piled it, and at all seasons carried it by armfuls into the 
house until the wood-boxes were filled, built and fed 
the fires, and, if occasion required, helped about the 
cooking, the bed-making, the dish-washing, and the 
other domestic employments. Many hands made 
light work, and we were adepts in the art of despatch- 
ing work. Our hours for play were short and few in 
the week, but they were appreciated and made the 
most of. 

Of course the college attacted a great many distin- 
guished strangers and visitors from all over the world, 
and as accommodations at the hotels were very uncom- 
fortable, such persons were generally entertained by 
some member of the college faculty, who in such cases 
exercised a very simple but charming hospitality. I 
have seen under my father's roof and at his table gov- 
ernors of States, United States Senators, and members 
of the House of Representatives, justices of the courts, 
foreign ministers, distinguished preachers, orators, and 
teachers, from my own country and from foreign lands, 
and professors connected with foreign universities, alto- 
gether too numerous to mention. They came to do 
honor to Amherst College and its neighboring institu- 
tions, to see and admire the beauty of the scenery, to 



6 Recollections of the Civil War 

study and explore. Such an institution is always a 
centre of mental activity and curiosity. 

New England was at this time the storm-centre of 
anti-slavery sentiment. Webster, Everett, Choate, 
many of the orthodox clergy in Boston, and many of the 
faculty of Harvard College were leaders of the conser- 
vatives, and strongly influenced sentiment in Boston 
and vicinity ; while Garrison, Phillips, Theodore Parker, 
and the Beechers were typical abolitionists, and had a 
strong following throughout New England, particularly 
in the interior towns and communities. They appealed 
to the Puritan conscience of the North, and the Anglo- 
Saxon worship of manhood and liberty as manifested 
in the Declaration of Independence, and in the growth 
of free, republican institutions in Europe and America. 
The South answered by such acts as the Fugitive Slave 
Bill, by compelling the rendition of Anthony Burns 
into slavery from Boston, by attempting to compel the 
admission of Kansas into the Union as a slave State 
against the will of the inhabitants, and by striking down 
Senator Sumner of Massachusetts in the Senate- 
chamber. 

All this time the South was threatening to secede 
from the Union if her demands were not complied with, 
and it was unsafe for a citizen of a Northern State to 
travel or be seen in one of the Southern States. The 
President of the United States, Mr. Buchanan, with his 
Cabinet, were in substantial sympathy with the South, 
and were using their official positions to aid the South, 
rather than the North, in the event of secession. After 
January I, 1861, Buchanan's back was slightly stiffened 
by the substitution of four Northern Democrats in the 
place of the same number of Southern sympathizers 
as members of his Cabinet. In the meantime, the 



First Weeks of Struggle 7 

Southern States were arming and drilling and actually 
erecting batteries and siege guns for the overthrow or 
capture of the national fortresses situated on Southern 
soil. In fact, all was doubt and uncertainty in the 
North, while the South was full of confidence and 
decision. 

After Mr. Lincoln's election, and before he was in- 
augurated, South Carolina and five other States passed 
ordinances of secession and established a Confederate 
States government. Still not a move was made by the 
North. Then there were rumors that the South would 
prevent Mr. Lincoln's inauguration by capturing or 
assassinating him, and still President Buchanan dis- 
couraged any movement of troops looking towards the 
protection of Washington, for fear of exciting the South. 

Lincoln clandestinely entered the capital and was 
inaugurated, and immediately took measures peaceably 
to provision our forts. He equipped a steamer with 
food supplies and sent her to Fort Sumter. Then the 
Southern batteries opened, and Fort Sumter surren- 
dered within thirty-four hours. War had begun. 

Yet up to this time the idea of the possibility of war 
had hardly entered the Northern mind. Now all was 
changed. The North was on fire to avenge the insult 
to the flag. All individual differences of opinion gen- 
erated by self-interest, by timidity, by religious scruples, 
or by any other of the thousand and one influences that 
divide minute conflicting parties, were fused in the 
tremendous heat of patriotism, enthusiasm, and rage, 
aroused by the fact that a blow had been struck at the 
nation's life. Mr. Rhodes says : 

The sentiment of patriotism rose supreme in all hearts. 
The service of the country superseded bread-winning labor 



8 Recollections of the Civil War 

and business, and called for the sacrifice on its altar of 
parental feeling and wifely tenderness. It was the uprising 
of a great people. . . . Men who had never dreamed of a 
soldier's life hurried to enlist. Laborers, mechanics, clerks, 
students and professors of the colleges, many sons of 
wealthy and influential families, enrolled themselves for the 
common cause. 1 

On Friday, the 19th day of April, 1861, the Sixth 
Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteers, while passing 
through Baltimore to go to the rescue of the national 
capital, was fired upon by Southern sympathizers in 
that city, and for several days after, communication 
between the North and Washington was closed, and the 
fate of the capital was in suspense. The excitement in 
the North, and particularly in Massachusetts, was most 
intense. 

On the following Sunday afternoon, April 21st, my 
father preached a rousing sermon in the college chapel 
at Amherst, "On themes suited to the circumstances, 
and in a strain intended to inspire courage, heroism, and 
self-sacrificing devotion." We filed out of the chapel 
after the service, and our Professor of Chemistry, after- 
ward Colonel Clark, said that he would go with a com- 
pany of one hundred men if they would be enlisted, and 
in less than half an hour, one hundred of the college 
students had given their names. Professor Clark tele- 
graphed at once to Governor Andrew that he had a full 
company of students ready to start at his call. Gover- 
nor Andrew replied that he could not equip all the men 
who had offered their services. The students' services 
would be required later; meanwhile, let them pursue 
their studies. I was one of the one hundred young men 

1 Vol. Hi., p. 358. 



First Weeks of Struggle 9 

who tendered their services on this occasion, and were 
refused. 

In the autumn of 1858, I entered college as a member 
of the class of 1862. Of course, collegians, like other 
young men of the country, were deeply interested and 
stirred by what was happening in the political history 
of the country, but until Sumter was fired upon, and 
even until Virginia and the border slave States actually 
seceded, vast masses, perhaps a majority, of the people 
in the North could not bring themselves to believe 
that the South would secede and establish a separate 
government. The political leaders of the South had 
threatened so long and so much that there was a very 
general feeling that they were playing a desperate game 
of bluff. The men who actually believed in secession 
were supposed to constitute a small minority of the 
people of the Southern States. They were described 
as " fire-eaters," and were, for the most part, citizens 
of the so-called Cotton States. In territory and in the 
numbers of their inhabitants these States constituted a 
small portion of the United States. The border States 
did not raise cotton, and, outside of the property in- 
terest in the preservation of the institution of slavery, 
they were as closely allied with the North as with the 
South, and, as to slavery, its perpetuation in the States 
where it already existed was guaranteed by the Consti- 
tution, and reasonably secure. Only its extension over 
additional territory and into new States was assailed 
by the Republican party, and in i860 the Republican 
party succeeded through divisions in the Democratic 
party, rather than through its ability to control suffi- 
cient votes to elect its own candidates. 

Under these circumstances it was very easy for a 
Northern man to persuade himself that there was no real 



io Recollections of the Civil War 

danger of secession on the part of the Southern States. 
In fact, there seemed to be no reasonable argument in 
favor of secession and numberless sound arguments 
against it. The fact that the North believed in the 
impossibility of secession is indicated by the utter 
refusal to make any provision against it, or even to 
prepare for national self-preservation, while the South 
was carrying off arms, planning to seize forts, organizing 
and drilling an army, passing ordinances of secession, 
and actually establishing a rival government. When 
Sumter fell, and while our flag was trailing in the dust, 
we rubbed our eyes to find out whether we were awake. 
It took us forty-eight hours to recover from our amaze- 
ment, and then all was excitement and anger. 

But what a condition existed for undertaking a great 
war! Our regular army, consisting of about sixteen 
thousand men, was scattered from Maine on the east to 
California and Texas on the west and south. Out of 
one hundred and ninety-eight companies, one hundred 
and eighty-three were stationed on the frontier or were 
en route to distant points west of the Mississippi. The 
remaining fifteen companies were stationed along the 
Canadian frontier, and on the Atlantic coast from 
Maine to the Gulf of Mexico. Outside of the regular 
army, our Northern citizens had for three generations 
been devoted to the arts and employments of peace. In 
the War of 1812, they had disgraced themselves by 
a cowardly surrender of the national capital, and by 
losing every battle between land forces fought on 
Northern soil, with perhaps the single exception of the 
battle of the Thames. 

The Mexican War was waged for Southern aggran- 
dizement, and was mainly a school of instruction for 
the Southern soldier, from which the North derived 



First Weeks of Struggle n 

very little benefit. Our Northern armories and arsenals 
had been robbed during Buchanan's administration for 
the benefit of the South. At the very beginning of the 
struggle, the most distinguished and leading officers 
of the regular army, such as Lee, the two Johnstons, 
Bragg, Beauregard, Hardee, and others, resigned their 
commissions and espoused the cause of the South. 
But beyond all this, while the men of the North were 
commercial in habit and spirit, those of the South were 
of a decided military caste. They were trained in the 
use of arms; they practised duelling; were good horse- 
men ; and cultivated all the manly sports which gave 
nerve and dash and inured them to hardship. 

Most of our arms that were available were in the 
hands of the militia. They were of the musket type — 
not rifles. Until we could buy or manufacture more 
guns, we could not equip an army of adequate size. Our 
finances in i860 had been so mismanaged that the gov- 
ernment had not money enough to pay the salaries of 
its Senators and Representatives, let alone the extra- 
ordinary war expenses. Buchanan's administration had 
done its utmost to wreck the Treasury as well as the 
army and navy. The public credit was so low that the 
obligations of the United States were already selling at 
a discount of fifteen per cent. Congress had not pro- 
vided a way for meeting such an emergency. There 
were no laws authorizing the raising or sustaining 
a larger army than the existing regular army. We had 
no precedent for such an army, no experience in organ- 
izing such an army, no officers whom we knew to be 
capable of handling it. The military establishment and 
the financial establishment to pay for it had both to be 
created anew. It was a large school without teachers. 
No wonder that Mr. Lincoln began with great 



12 



Recollections of the Civil War 



moderation. On April 15, 1861, forty-two days after 
his inauguration, by proclamation he called upon the 
governors of the several States to furnish 75,000 militia 
for three months' service to be used to suppress unlawful 
combinations and to cause the laws to be executed, and 
summoned both houses of Congress to assemble on the 
next Fourth of July, "to consider and determine such 
measures as in their wisdom the public safety and 
interest may seem to demand." 1 This much he could 
do under an act of Congress passed in 1795. On May 
3, 1 861, he issued an additional proclamation calling 
for 42,034 volunteers to serve for three years in the 
army, and 18,000 seamen to serve not less than one 
nor more than three years in the navy. 

Up to this time President Lincoln had not expressed 
nor declared any intention of waging war upon the 
South. He would do his utmost to repossess the prop- 
erty of the United States, and enforce the laws. 

1 Works (Federal Ed.), vol. v., p. 284. 



CHAPTER II 
THE FIRST FIFTEEN MONTHS OF WAR 

FROM APRIL, 1 86 1, TO JULY, 1 862 

ON April 17, 1 861, the Commonwealth of Virginia 
passed an act rescinding the vote by which it 
became one of the United States, and on April 24th 
entered into an offensive and defensive alliance with 
the Confederate States. On April 18th Robert E. Lee 
said to Francis P. Blair that secession was anarchy, 
that if he owned all the negroes in the South he would 
sacrifice them for the Union ; but on the 20th he tendered 
the resignation of his commission in the United States 
Army and accepted a commission from the Common- 
wealth of Virginia as Major- General and commander- 
in-chief of their forces. * 

On April 18th, 460 Pennsylvania volunteers without 
arms, and a company of regulars from Minnesota, 
reached Washington from Harrisburg; on April 19th, 
the Sixth Massachusetts Volunteers arrived 2 ; on the 
20th the Gosport Navy Yard near Norfolk was partially 
destroyed by the Union forces and abandoned. 3 

On the 25th, the isolation of Washington and the 
anxiety of the North were relieved by the arrival, after 

I Rhodes's History, iii., p. 365; Recollections and Letters of General 
Lee, p. 25, etc.; and Abraham Lincoln, by Nicolay and Hay, vol. iv., 

P- 159- 

2 Rhodes, iii., p. 362. J Id., p. 364. 

13 



14 Recollections of the Civil War 

days of delay at Annapolis, of the Seventh New York 
and the Eighth Massachusetts regiments, * and on May 
13th communications between Philadelphia and the 
capital by way of Baltimore were re-established. On 
April 24th in answer to an inquiry from Reverdy 
Johnson as to whether he meditated invasion or sub- 
jugation of the South, President Lincoln wrote: "I 
have no objection to declare a thousand times that I 
have no purpose to invade Virginia or any other State, 
but I do not mean to let them invade us without striking 
back." 2 

The border States of Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, 
and Maryland were threatening secession if the United 
States attempted to coerce, or in any way used force 
against the South. 

The Confederate Congress met at Montgomery, 
Alabama, on the 29th of April, 3 and on the 6th of May 
passed an act recognizing the existence of war between 
the United States and the Confederate States, and at 
the suggestion of President Davis to raise an army of 
100,000 men, immediately authorized him to accept 
without limit volunteers "to serve for or during the 
existing war." 4 

While the United States was enlisting its soldiers 
for thirty days, three months, nine months, or for 
one, two, or three years, and constantly mustering 
and discharging them, the Confederate States pur- 
sued one consistent course, and enlisted its men for 
the war. This gave the South an immense advantage in 
the war. Many mistakes of a similar character will call 
for mention as our story progresses. Congress met 
pursuant to the call of the President on July 4th, and 

1 Rhodes, p. 374. 2 Nicolay and Hay, Complete Works, ii., p. 38. 
3 Rhodes, iii., p. 395. * Id., p. 396. 



First Fifteen Months of War 15 

authorized the President to accept the services of 500,- 
000 volunteers, and directed the issue of $250,000,000 
of bonds. 1 

On May 24th, the Federal troops crossed the Poto- 
mac and occupied Alexandria and the Heights of 
Arlington. 2 At Alexandria, Major Ellsworth was shot 
and killed in the act of hauling down the Confederate 
flag from the cupola of the main hotel of the city. It 
was an inglorious end to a brief but rather promising 
career of one of our young soldiers who had achieved 
fame by drilling a company of Zouaves in Chicago, and 
exhibiting them in the Eastern States. 

Public clamor and political impatience now demanded 
an advance of the army. The newspapers talked of 
occupying Richmond in twenty days. There were 
75,000 men called into the service in April by President 
Lincoln, whose terms of service would expire about 
August 1st. They had been drilled as regiments and 
organized into brigades for a week or a fortnight, but 
had never been manoeuvred in brigade formation, 
and as they could no longer be retained in the service 
a battle must be fought to give the government the full 
benefit of these short enlistments. It mattered not 
that the army had never been manoeuvred together 
and was essentially a rabble. 

The battle of Bull Run was fought on the 21st day of 
July. 3 About 29,000 Confederates met 28,000 Federals. 
It ended in a panic and the rout of the Union forces, 
with the loss of about 1500 men. After fighting bravely 
for several hours, they ran without a rally until they 
reached Washington. 

I well remember the excitement at Amherst when we 
received the news of this disaster. We had been fed 

1 Rhodes iii., p. 437. 2 Id., p. 435. 3 Id., p. 446. 



16 Recollections of the Civil War 

on enthusiasm after Sumter fell, created by Lincoln's 
call for 75,000 volunteers, and it was a common rumor 
that in all the States there were more volunteers than 
could be supplied with arms. The North was once 
more unanimous. How could we fail! It was the 
first great setback of the war. We had taken a lesson 
in the hard school of experience. We had to take many 
more before we were graduated from the college of war. 
This first lesson was humiliating and very disappoint- 
ing; but we set our teeth and went to work to enlist 
half a million men and organize them into an army. 
General Scott was retired and General McClellan, who 
had been successful in a small way in West Virginia, 
was brought to Washington and made commander-in- 
chief. During the Crimean War he had been sent 
abroad as member of a commission to gather military 
information, and had witnessed the operation of the 
armies there engaged. He applied himself with intel- 
ligence and energy to his great task of forming an army 
out of the great mass of ignorant and inexperienced men, 
officered by equally untrained men, who were gathering 
at Washington in answer to their country's call. 

At the call of the President, the several States 
assembled the regiments. An influential man, very 
likely a politician, would be authorized by the governor 
to raise a regiment. He would promise other influen- 
tial citizens positions as captains or lieutenants if they 
would assist by raising companies. After the regiment 
was raised, theoretically the men had the right to choose 
their own officers. They usually selected the persons 
who had been active in securing their enlistment, and 
in this way the promises of the higher regimental 
officers were made good; but the fact that the final 
right of election rested with the enlisted men led to 



First Fifteen Months of War 1 7 

much familiarity of a political or love-making character 
between the men and the office-seekers which was not 
conducive to good order or discipline. The result was 
that every regiment had to go through a weeding-out 
process among its officers before it was fit for duty. 

All the officers of the army having a higher rank than 
colonel were appointed by the President, who, in addi- 
tion to his civil office, was by the Constitution made 
commander-in-chief of the army and navy of the United 
States. As our Presidents, with one or two exceptions, 
were not soldiers or men of military education or train- 
ing, this resulted in subordinating the army and navy 
to the civil authorities. This was all very well in time 
of peace, but in time of war was a most hazardous 
arrangement. Politicians controlled the armies and 
largely managed and controlled the campaigns. The 
disasters of the War of 1812 were probably due to the 
incompetence of our commanders, who were none other 
than our President and Secretary of War, who were both 
civilians, and tried to direct things from their head- 
quarters at Washington. The same arrangement was 
undoubtedly responsible for the misfortunes of the 
Army of the Potomac in its early campaigns. 

The President was the constitutional commander. 
He was a civilian fully occupied with his civil and polit- 
ical duties. Therefore, he devolved his military duties 
upon his Secretary of War. He too was a civilian, and 
he appointed his favorites, who in many instances 
were only politicians, to responsible army positions, 
and constantly meddled with the control of the army 
and the plans of the military leaders in the field. 

General McClellan was a good engineer. He encir- 
cled Washington with a cordon of forts and earthworks 
of the most improved pattern. He was a skilful or- 



1 8 Recollections of the Civil War 

ganizer. By the month of October, 1861 , he reported an 
effective force of 169,000 men divided into five divisions 
of three brigades each. We now know that in the Con- 
federate army opposed to him there were but 41,000 
men. But he always insisted that he was outnumbered 
by the force opposed to him, and was never quite ready 
to move. 

During the late summer and autumn of 1861, the 
Twenty-first and Twenty-seventh Regiments of Massa- 
chusetts Volunteers were recruited from the vicinity of 
Amherst. Our Professor of Chemistry, William S. 
Clark, went as Major of the Twenty-first and took with 
him as the Adjutant of the regiment, Frazer Stearns, 
the son of our President, and several students or grad- 
uates. Several of these men were among those who 
had been enrolled and tendered their services to go with 
Clark on April 21st. 1 

At Amherst College the period between the fall of 
Sumter and my graduation in July of the following year 
was spent in pursuing the usual college curriculum, 
supplemented by a half-hour's drill four days in each 
week, under a militia officer, Luke Lyman, afterwards 
Colonel of the Twenty-seventh Massachusetts Volun- 
teers, who came over from Northampton three or four 
times a week and drilled and disciplined us in manoeuvres 
and tactics. We used poles for guns. Real muskets 
were too scarce to admit of their being supplied to 
schools or colleges. Each class became a company 
and every man was expected to attend the drills. In 
the absence of Colonel Lyman the class captain acted 
as drill-master. During the winter and spring months 
the drill was suspended on account of the want of a 
proper hall or drill-room. 

1 Supra, p. 8. 



First Fifteen Months of War 19 

The class of 1862 was more fortunate than the other 
classes in having for their captain a very enthusiastic 
member, who before he came to college had attended a 
military school, and was regarded by us as a very accom- 
plished soldier. We were very proud of our Captain 
Vance, and in October, 1861, when Colonel Lyman 
organized the Twenty-seventh Regiment of Massachu- 
setts Volunteers, he made Vance Captain of one of its 
companies, and took him with him to the war. Vance 
afterwards became Colonel of an Indiana regiment. 

Major Clark was my father's next-door neighbor, and 
Frazer Stearns had been my playmate and schoolmate 
for years before he entered college. Major Francis A. 
Walker, afterwards Assistant Adjutant-General of the 
Second Corps, was graduated at Amherst in i860. He 
was a man of amazing energy, of handsome person, fine 
address, and was distinguished in every department of 
life which he entered. He was a brilliant writer, a fine 
soldier, a great political economist, a remarkable statis- 
tician, and he has left the Massachusetts Institute of 
Technology at Boston as a monument to his adminis- 
trative genius and executive force in the department of 
technical instruction. He was two years in advance of 
me in college, but I knew him intimately, and greatly 
admired him. After graduation, he entered the law 
office of Devens & Hoar, in Worcester, Massachusetts, 
as a student. When Devens was made Colonel of the 
Fifteenth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteers, he 
took Walker with him as the Sergeant-Major of the regi- 
ment. He was with his regiment at Ball's Bluff when, 
on October 20th, the Twenty-first, with fragments of the 
Twentieth Massachusetts and the Forty-second New 
York regiments, was baptized in blood and fire, and by 
the criminal mismanagement of their commanders, 



20 Recollections of the Civil War 

nearly one half of those engaged were lost. The North 
was profoundly stirred, and Massachusetts was horrified 
at the wanton sacrifice of her young men. 

The Twenty-first and Twenty-seventh Regiments 
were assigned to General Burnside, and went with him 
to North Carolina. I have spoken of Clark and Stearns 
and many fellow-students as being members of the 
Twenty-first; in the Twenty-seventh was Vance in 
command of the Northampton Company A, and Com- 
pany D was largely composed of men from Amherst 
and vicinity. Early in March, 1862, Adjutant Stearns 
was killed at the battle of Newbern. x It was a daily 
occurrence to see in the papers among the lists of killed 
or wounded the name of some acquaintance or friend, 
or to meet them on crutches, or bandaged, or with an 
arm in a sling. The death of Adjutant Stearns pro- 
duced a profound impression. The prominence of his 
family, his Christian character, and his heroic death so 
soon after enlistment united to give him fame and to 
enroll him with Ellsworth, Winthrop, and Shaw, among 
the martyred dead. 

During the spring of my sophomore year, I had suf- 
fered from a severe attack of what the doctors then 
called lung-fever; I suppose now they would call it 
pneumonia. For the last two years of my college 
course, I was supposed to be marked for consumption. 
I was six feet in height, and when I was graduated I 
weighed 128 pounds. I was urged to leave college for 
a year, but I preferred to graduate with my class. The 
condition on which I was allowed to continue in college 
was that after graduation I should take a year and 
devote it to recreation. My mother and father had 
planned for me a long sea voyage. 

1 O. R., ix., p. 222. 



First Fifteen Months of War 21 

As yet there was no lack of volunteers for the army 
and navy, although the system of stimulating enlist- 
ments by bounties had already begun, but instead of keep- 
ing the old and experienced regiments full, they followed 
the practice of forming new regiments, with officers for 
the most part green and untried. It was a pernicious 
system, because in this way old and tried regiments 
that had made a name for themselves, and were pro- 
vided with a full complement of trained and experienced 
officers who knew how to take care of those under them 
in every emergency, would become skeletons, while the 
full regiments were composed entirely of green recruits, 
and were mainly handled and manoeuvred by equally 
unskilled citizens. On the other hand, the Confeder- 
ate government had, during the winter, met with 
a series of reverses which roused them to much greater 
exertion. On the coast they had lost Roanoke Isl- 
and, x Port Royal, 2 and the mouth of the Mississippi. 3 
In the interior they were beaten at Mill Spring, 4 
Forts Henry, 5 and Donelson, 6 and Island Number 
10, 7 and were driven out of Missouri. 8 Early in April, 
McClellan transferred his army to Fortress Monroe, 9 
and threatened to approach Richmond from the south. 
The Confederate army opposed to McClellan num- 
bered 53,000 men, I0 that of McClellan, about 158,000. ' ' 
The Southern capital was in danger. While Yorktown 
was besieged for a month, 1 2 the government in its des- 

1 Feb. 7, 1862, Rhodes, iii., p. 581. 2 Nov. 7, 1861, id., p. 490. 
3 Apr. 27, 1862, id., p. 629. < Jan. 19, 1862, id., p. 581. 

s Feb. 6, 1862, id., p. 582. 6 Feb. 16, 1862, id., p. 593. 

» Apl. 7, 1862, id., p. 628. 8 Id., p. 617. » Id., p. 615. 

10 Apl. 17, 1862, Johnston's Narrative, p. 117. 

11 Not all available. See McClellan 's Own Story, pp. 163-4, anc * tele- 
gram and letter from President Lincoln to McClellan April 6 and 9, 1862. 

"Rhodes, iii., p. 617. 



22 Recollections of the Civil War 

peration put forth its reserve strength. General Lee 
was military adviser to President Davis, and General 
Johnston was at the head of the army of defence. 1 
General Upton, in his Military Policy of the United 
States, says of this period (page 315): 

It was during this month so lost [April] that the 
Confederate Congress abandoned voluntary enlistments, 
adopted conscription, and took away from the governors 
the power to commission Confederate officers; it was 
during this month when the Army of the Potomac 
should have been at the doors of Richmond, that almost 
every regiment of the Confederate army was reorganized ; 
it was during this month that Confederate conscripts 
began to pour into the old regiments instead of being 
formed into new organizations ; it was during this and the 
two succeeding months, while McDowell was held back, 
that these conscripts, associated with veteran comrades, 
acquired courage and discipline, and it was by concentration 
during the last month that the Confederate army was made 
to equal its opponent. The loss of battles was but a trifle 
compared with the other consequences of this one month's 
delay. It arrayed against us a military system which 
enabled the Confederate government to call out the last 
man and the last dollar as against a system based on volun- 
tary enlistment and the consent of the States. 

On May 31st and on June 1st the battle of Fair 
Oaks, or Seven Pines, was fought. 2 It was a repulse for 
the Confederates, but McClellan retreated. General 
Johnston was wounded on the first day, i.e., May 31st, 
and on June 1st General Lee was assigned to the com- 
mand of the Confederate army. At this time the Army 
of the Potomac was within four miles of Richmond. If 

1 Apl. 17, 1862, Johnston's Narrative., p. 117. 

2 Rhodes, iv., p. 24. 



First Fifteen Months of War 23 

General Grant had then been in command he probably 
would have captured it. But McClellan delayed, and 
Lee at once commenced to fortify, and in three weeks he 
pronounced the city safe. At this time, McClellan's 
army numbered 105,000 and Lee's 64,000. x 

Now Lee summoned Jackson from the Shenandoah 
Valley, 2 where, by the rapidity of his movements and 
the fierceness of his attacks, he had inspired the North 
with terror. 

Thus was ushered in "the Seven Days' Fight," during 
which Lee, with the loss of a little over 20,000 men in all, 
compelled the Army of the Potomac to give up its base 
of supplies on the York River at West Point, and to fall 
back upon the James River, with a loss of less than 
16,000 men. Between armies of the size of these and 
for seven days of fighting, these losses were small. Lee's 
losses were much heavier than McClellan's, both abso- 
lutely and relatively ; but the latter's loss of prestige and 
morale was awful. McClellan's published correspondence 
shows that at the time he was overwhelmed with fear. 
He believed that he was outnumbered two to one. 
Misleading stories for the purpose of deceiving him as 
to the number of troops in Lee's and Jackson's armies 
were published in Richmond and were accepted by him 
as true. The rebel scouts and spies obtained accurate 
information about the numbers in our armies, but both 
at Manassas and before Richmond, McClellan received 
most exaggerated reports of the numbers of the forces 
opposed to him, and he never questioned them. He 
kept promising to move, and all the time fever and 
disease were making havoc with his army, and yet he 
was never ready. Even now his army was not so much 

1 Rhodes, p. 24, note 1, and p. 33, note 1. 
3 Id., p. 33. 



24 Recollections of the Civil War 

damaged as Grant's army was after the second day of 
fighting in the Wilderness. But there was this differ- 
ence, Grant was not whipped, McClellan was. 

The country never knew darker days than the first 
half of August, 1861. 1 It took several days to find out 
what had happened. McClellan was ominously silent. 
It was the end of a period of magnificent promises built 
upon a lavish expenditure of money, human blood, and 
the nation's vital resources. All was wasted owing to 
the lack of competent military leadership. President 
Lincoln feared to call for further volunteers lest in the 
general discouragement and gloom the people should 
fail to respond. No popular leader ever felt the public 
pulse more accurately than he did. It ended in his 
secretly getting the governors of the several States to 
offer him their proportions of an additional levy of 
300,000 men for three years' service, and within a 
month he asked for 300,000 more men for nine months' 
service. 

Commencement exercises at Amherst for that sum- 
mer began on Sunday, July 6th, and ended Thursday, 
July 10th. It was a week of the deepest gloom. McClel- 
lan was reported to be safe on a gunboat on the James. 
Where the Army of the Potomac was, nobody knew. 
Yet the people were not discouraged. They were 
beginning to appreciate that it was a life-and-death 
struggle, to be waged until one side or the other was 
exhausted. Governor Andrew, as was then the cus- 
tom of the Governor of the Commonwealth, attended 
at Amherst Commencement Day, and after the public 
exercises were over, I had a conversation with him in 
which I told him I had thought of travelling for my 
health, but had concluded to go to the war, and he 

1 So in original. Probably meant 1862. 



First Fifteen Months of War 25 

replied by offering me a commission if I would raise a 
company. 

A town meeting was held, at which a bounty of $100 
to be paid to each enlisted man was voted, and Mr. 
William F. Stearns, son of our President, who resided 
in India and was temporarily in this country, offered 
a further gift of $25 to every man who would enlist from 
Cambridgeport or Amherst. On the evening of Com- 
mencement, we had a public meeting, and I enlisted, 
and the next day I began the work of enlisting a com- 
pany for the war. 



CHAPTER III 
GOING TO THE WAR 

JULY TO OCTOBER, 1 862 

C NTHUSIASM had spent its force. The glamour 
J— ' and tinsel of a soldier's life no longer lured to 
enlistment. Everybody recognized that it was a most 
serious business. My work was to travel about the 
country hunting for men of proper age and build to serve 
as soldiers, appealing to their patriotism and sense of 
duty to induce them to enlist. It often required several 
visits to secure one man. If they were willing to go 
themselves, family, sweethearts, and friends had to be 
consulted. One day I would go to Hadley, another to 
North Hadley, a third to Hatfield, a fourth to Sunder- 
land, a fifth to Shutesbury, etc. I worked evenings as 
well as in the daytime, because I could get the men 
together. During the day they were at work. Henry 
Hills, a genial, wholesouled merchant of Amherst, with 
a large acquaintance in our neighborhood, sometimes 
went with me, but more frequently I went alone. By 
the first of August I had sixty names on my list, and I 
went down to Boston and reported to the Governor, 
who commissioned me a Second Lieutenant in the 
Thirty-sixth Massachusetts Volunteers; and I was on 
that day mustered into the service of the United States. 
The rendezvous of the Thirty-sixth was Camp Wool, 

26 



Going to the War 27 

Worcester, but by order of the Governor, the Thirty- 
second, Thirty-third, Thirty-fourth, and Thirty-fifth 
Regiments must first be filled, and no assignments of 
recruits to the Thirty-sixth were made until after Au- 
gust 1st. At that time the unassigned fragments of 
companies not required to complete these four regiments 
were divided, — those coming from the eastern part of 
the State going to the Thirty-sixth at Worcester, and 
those from the western part of the State to the Thirty- 
seventh at Camp Briggs, Pittsfield. I was ordered to 
report with my men at Pittsfield, which I did on August 
nth. 

The company streets had been laid out, but all was 
confusion when we arrived. The camp was delightfully 
located on a level field one mile to the east of Pittsfield, 
one thousand feet above sea-level, with the beautiful 
Berkshire Hills and Hoosac Mountains in plain view. 
Colonel Raymond Lee of the Twentieth Massachusetts 
was in command of the camp. Two or three wall tents 
were erected for the accommodation of the regimental 
officers. A board structure, much like a barn, was 
occupied by the quartermaster, and a smaller structure 
of the same character was erected by the sutler for his 
own use. The first four nights after our arrival, I 
slept on the floor of the quartermaster's building. This 
was the main lodging-house for the officers, and Quar- 
termaster Dodge was a very hospitable host. There 
was a small number of A-tents for so many of the rank 
and file as could be crowded into them. A full supply of 
tents did not arrive until August 23d. Uniforms and 
blankets were distributed to the companies on their 
arrival. We had a few muskets for guard purposes, 
and on the 3d of September the regiment was fully 
armed with the new Springfield rifles. 



28 Recollections of the Civil War 

On August 1 2th, Major Oliver Edwards, our future 
Colonel, arrived and relieved Colonel Lee as commander 
of the camp. He had been in the service for a year, 
first as Adjutant of the Tenth Massachusetts, subse- 
quently as senior aide on the staff of General Couch. 
He was twenty-seven years of age, keen eyed and quick 
in his motions. He acted while other men were making 
up their minds. He was a rigid disciplinarian, and 
inspired those under him with respect, buttressed by 
fear. He was kind and sympathetic with the suffering 
and the sick, but very severe towards any man who 
shirked in the performance of duty, or was shiftless. 
He was an unusually good volunteer officer, and the 
Thirty-seventh owed much of the good reputation that 
it acquired and sustained to the soldierly qualities of 
its Colonel. 

Our company was soon filled by adding to the men 
coming with me, the recruits from South Hadley, 
South Hadley Falls, and Ware. When completed it was 
a fine body of men, largely composed of the yeomanry 
or the old Bay State. It had in its ranks several men 
of college education, a number of mechanics and ma- 
chinists, a large number of young men from the farms, 
with two or three Germans, two Frenchmen, and four 
or five Irishmen. They could all read and write, and 
all had at least a common-school education. We were 
designated Company F in the regiment. 

George L. Montague, afterwards Major and Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel of the Thirty-seventh, came with the 
recruits from South Hadley and South Hadley Falls, 
and immediately entered the lists as a candidate for the 
captain's position in Company F. He had been a year 
in the service, first in the Sixth Wisconsin, and after- 
wards on the military staff of the Governor of that State, 



Going to the War 29 

with whom he remained until the Governor was acci- 
dentally killed at Pittsburg Landing, and he then 
returned to his native State. He was born and brought 
up in South Hadley, was a capable man, of engaging 
manners, and had had experience both in the field and 
on staff. At that time I did not want to be captain of 
Company F, first, on account of the precarious condi- 
tion of my health, and second, because I felt that it was 
better for the company, as well as myself, that we should 
have a captain of experience. 

I was attacked with camp diarrhoea and symptoms of 
dysentery on August 14th, and as we had no hospital, 
the surgeon sent me to the Berkshire Hotel, where I 
remained until the 18th, when I returned to the regi- 
ment, although I was still very weak. On the 20th, 
Montague was elected Captain. I was elected First 
Lieutenant of Company F, and our commissions were 
dated August 13th. Captain Montague was twenty- 
eight, and I was twenty-two years of age. On the 30th, 
Company F, being full, was, with five other companies, 
mustered into the service of the United States. 

On the morning after our arrival in camp, we were 
aroused and the roll was called at 5 o'clock, and on that 
day we had four hours of drill. Guard-mounting and 
dress-parade were introduced as soon as we had a suffi- 
cient number of companies to make a fair appearance. 
From this time until we started for Washington we had 
daily drills of at least four hours a day, first in squads, 
then in platoons and companies, and these were sup- 
plemented the latter part of the time by battalion drills 
and by marches of greater or less length. Regular 
army rations were issued to the companies, and the 
men were learning to cook their food, to keep clean, to 
take care of their clothing, and to have everything in 



30 Recollections of the Civil War 

order to pass inspection. The officers were fed in a 
mess by the sutler. 

In consideration of the fact that we were so soon to 
be separated by long distances from home, with great 
uncertainties of future return, the men and officers 
were indulged, as far as was consistent with the per- 
formance of their duties as soldiers, with facilities for 
seeing and visiting with their relatives and friends. 
They were allowed to have them in camp from early 
dawn until nine o'clock at night, and the officers were 
given leaves of absence and the men furloughs to visit 
their homes for two or three days. My father and 
brothers and several of my college classmates came 
down and visited me for longer or shorter periods, and 
I remember that such men as Dr. Humphrey, then 
residing in Pittsfield, but formerly President of Amherst 
College, and Dr. F. D. Huntington, afterwards Bishop 
of Central New York, a summer resident of North 
Hadley, and a graduate of Amherst College, came and 
called upon me in camp. On Friday, August 29th, I 
was given leave of absence until Monday noon, and I 
went home and spent Sunday with my family. 

Colonel Edwards announced that he would give the 
colors to the company that would attain to the greatest 
proficiency in drill and discipline. Company "F" 
carried off the prize, and Sergeant Charles S. Bard well, 
a splendid specimen of a six-footer from Whately, was 
selected as color-bearer, and very proudly did he carry 
the flag until he was promoted to a lieutenancy in the 
summer of 1863. 

On August 226., I had my first experience as officer 
of the day. It was a rainy day. Between the rain 
and my detail, we made the camp shine. On August 
27th, Edwards got his commission as Colonel, and he 



Going to the War 31 

immediately appointed Captain Montague to fill the 
vacancy in the office of Major, and as I still did not feel 
equal to the captaincy, Eugene A. Allen, who had served 
a year as Sergeant in the Tenth Massachusetts, was 
recommended by Colonel Edwards for the place and 
duly appointed and commissioned. He was an admir- 
able officer, and added much to the efficiency of the 
regiment. 

The last three days of August and the early days of 
September were a period of great anxiety in the North. 
The battles of Manassas, Second Bull Run, and Chan- 
tilly were fought on August 29th, 30th, and September 
1st, respectively. 1 Lee and Jackson penetrated almost 
to the defences of Washington. It was a repetition of 
the experiences of the Seven Days' Fight, with the scene 
transferred from Richmond to Washington. To be 
compelled to retreat miles in the face of the enemy and 
submit to a second thrashing on the field of their dis- 
honor of the previous year was a humiliation which it 
would seem the Army of the Potomac might have been 
spared. 

The most pitiable sight of all was to see our beloved 
President, after he had fulfilled the titanic duties 
devolved upon him as the civil chief of the nation, 
struggling to make up for the deficiencies of his military 
advisers and leaders. He was fully aware of his own 
lack of experience and capacity in this department of 
the government. But he could see that the army and 
the capital were safer if they were not so widely sepa- 
rated. Therefore, while he was settling the question 
of who should be the next commander to be tried, he 
listened to the advice of those who counselled the retreat 
of the army from the James to the Potomac. It was 

1 See Rhodes., vi., pp. 127, 129, 135. 



32 Recollections of the Civil War 

made at a terrible sacrifice in the morale of his army. 
The Army of the Potomac never fully recovered from 
these early disastrous experiences. The atmosphere 
of that army was ever after charged with them. 

The Twenty-first Massachusetts was one of those 
that suffered very severely at the battle of Chantilly. 
Colonel Clark 1 was reported among the killed, and for 
days his fate was unknown. The newspapers were full 
of exaggerated reports of losses, and my letters from 
home spoke of discouragement and mourning. In 
camp all was hurry and bustle with daily rumors of our 
departure for the seat of war. On September 6th, the 
ladies of Pittsfield presented Colonel Edwards with a 
beautiful regimental flag of silk, the staff being of oak 
from Mount Greylock. The presentation took place 
at dress-parade, and at its close, orders were read direct- 
ing departure for Washington on the morrow. 

Sunday, September 7th, was a very hot day. Reveille 
was sounded at 4 a.m., and we took a soldier's breakfast 
and packed our baggage. We sent home what we 
thought we could spare, and still our knapsacks and 
haversacks bulged like hay loads on farm wagons. It 
was afternoon when we started and marched to the 
public square in the town where a religious service was 
held. Rev. Dr. Todd prayed for us most earnestly 
and impressively. Crowds thronged the streets, flags 
were everywhere displayed, and we marched through 
them led by a band of music to the depot of the Boston 
& Albany (then the Western) Railroad, where we were 
loaded on twenty-five cars, and amid resounding cheers 
were started for the city of Hudson, where we arrived 
about 6 o'clock, and were escorted by the fire depart- 
ment and the local militia from the Hudson depot a 

1 See p. 18. 



Going to the War 33 

mile across the city, and embarked on board the 
steamer Oregon, for New York. 

After the heat and excitement of the day, it was a 
great relief to experience the cool breezes and refreshing 
surroundings of the river. We were too tired, and 
darkness would not permit us, to see the magnificent 
scenery through which we were passing. But we 
enjoyed its effect and slept as only tired, healthy men 
can sleep. x 

At 5 a.m. of the next day, Monday, September 
8th, we were landed in Jersey City at the wharf of the 
New Jersey R. R. & Transportation Co., and there 
waited three hours. An uncle and cousins of mine 
met me with a basket of provisions, and after the regi- 
ment landed, we had a picnic on the dock. About 
nine o'clock we were again loaded into cars which did 
not get outside the boundary line of Jersey City until 
noon, and then the train loitered around on its way to 
Philadelphia all the afternoon, and arrived there about 
seven o'clock in the evening. 

During the whole war, Philadelphia was famous for 
the hospitality with which it treated the Union soldiers. 
Never a regiment went through the city that was not 
most bountifully fed at its Cooper shop, or at some other 
equally good place of entertainment. The Thirty- 
seventh, during its term of service, passed through that 
city six times, and on each occasion received the same 
generous treatment at the hands of the Quaker City 
authorities. On the particular occasion of which I am 
now writing, the soldiers were unaccustomed to the 
hard and coarse fare which was usually dealt out to the 

1 "Officers had state-rooms, men slept as they could. A collation 
was served by the people of Hudson. Liquor clandestinely smuggled 
aboard was thrown overboard." — M. W. TVs MS. card diary. 



34 Recollections of the Civil War 

men in the ranks by purveyors who were hired to feed 
them wholesale, and the diet that they had in camp was 
none too good for human beings. Therefore, when 
they reached Philadelphia, they had a hearty appetite 
for the dainty supplies given them, and some of the 
wags in Company F remarked that they ate enough to 
last them through their entire term of service. 

At midnight we were loaded on freight cars, and 
started on our way southward, with most of the men 
asleep on the floor of the cars. z A few miles out of 
Philadelphia, our train crashed into a passenger train 
mostly filled with soldiers returning to Washington from 
hospitals, on their way to rejoin their regiments. The 
train run into was halted between the stations, and was 
telescoped by our train, which received no injury 
because it was composed of freight cars, while the pas- 
senger train into which we ran was wrecked from end 
to end. During the next two or three hours we 
rescued out of the wreckage the mangled remains and 
corpses of more than thirty victims of the collision. A 
third train ran into the rear of our train while it was 
standing on the tracks. I speak of this to show how 
dangerous the railroad service of that time was. We 
were detained by this accident until eleven o'clock on 
the following day, when we were put on board a new 
train and moved slowly southward. We reached 
Wilmington, Delaware, in the early afternoon. 

Whenever we stopped the farmers and country people 
brought generous supplies of fruit, peaches, pears, 
plums, and grapes, and emptied them into our cars. At 
Wilmington the train stopped, but we were fed on 
board the cars with nearly as much generosity and 
bounty as the regiment had received at the hands of 

' M. W. TVs card diary says, " I slept on the floor of a car." 



Going to the War 35 

the authorities in Philadelphia. Wilmington was only- 
second to Philadelphia in its generous treatment of the 
soldiers of the Union army when they passed through 
that city. They seemed to believe it their duty to 
make up for the deficiency of hospitality shown by the 
people of Baltimore to the soldiers of the North. A 
little later in the afternoon, after leaving Wilmington, 
we crossed the Susquehanna on the ferry-boat Mary- 
land. At Havre de Grace, we began to realize that we 
were in a State where the sentiment in favor of the South 
distinctly asserted itself. Wherever we went the people 
glared at us as if we were wolves. There was no sym- 
pathy either in their looks or in their actions. 

We reached Baltimore about 8 o'clock in the evening. 
No sign of welcome greeted us here. We marched to a 
rude frame building, were fed as if we were animals, 
and then proceeded through dark and deserted streets 
across the city to the Washington depot of the Balti- 
more & Ohio Railroad. It was the same route followed 
by the Sixth Massachusetts on the occasion of their 
famous trip through Baltimore. Here we spent the 
night and waited for transportation until the middle of 
the next afternoon, September 10th. Late in the 
morning we were loaded again into freight cars and 
without further incidents we slowly wended our way to 
Washington, which city we reached about 5 p.m. At 
Washington we were fed at the Soldiers' Relief Barracks 
in much the same way as in Baltimore. 

That night my company and I slept in the yards of 
the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, just outside the old 
Washington depot. There was hardly room to lie 
down, and the night was wet and rainy. We had 
occupied four days and three nights in going from camp 
at Pittsfield to the city of Washington. This is a fair 



36 Recollections of the Civil War 

specimen of the way regiments travelled during the 
war. 

Washington was at this time crowded with wounded 
and convalescent soldiers, and overwhelmed with 
recruits coming from the North to fill the vacancies 
caused by battle and defeat. Everywhere on the 
streets you saw blue uniforms discolored by service, 
here and there a soldier limping on crutches or a cane 
or with his arm in a sling, or his head or some part of 
his body bandaged. It was very depressing to those 
just entering the service. 

Thursday, September nth, we breakfasted at the 
Soldiers' Relief Barracks, and before noon we moved up 
Pennsylvania Avenue and down Seventh Street over 
Long Bridge to "the sacred soil of Virginia," to what 
was known as Camp Chase, the rendezvous of the troops 
coming from the North to the city of Washington, 
where they remained until they could be allotted to 
brigades or divisions in the Army of the Potomac, or 
some other army or post in the service. Camp Chase 
was situated to the east of Arlington Heights, near the 
fortification known as Fort Albany, and overlooked 
Washington, the Capitol, and most of the public 
buildings. x 

On my way through Washington I was followed by a 
young boy, named James McHugh, who wanted me to 
hire him as my servant. Up to that time I had carried 
my own luggage, which consisted of a knapsack and 
haversack, because no one had offered to serve me in the 
capacity of a servant, and this boy looked so small 
that I at first treated him contemptuously, and as 
entirely unable and unfit for such employment. He 

1 M. W. T.'s card diary says: "It was our first real march, and was 
very trying and uncomfortable. I had no servant and started with my 
own knapsack strapped on my back." 



Going to the War 37 

followed me so persistently and urged me so hard to 
try him that I finally consented and turned over to him 
my knapsack; and he proved himself so tough and 
strong that I finally employed him, and he remained 
with me two years in that capacity. 

After our halt at Camp Chase we laid out a camp. 
We were without tents, which were not issued to us 
until several days later. The road leading to and bor- 
dering our camp was lined with cedars. It took very 
little time for the soldiers to strip those cedars of their 
boughs and transform them into beds. As such they 
served an excellent purpose. 

From September 12th to 30th we were very busy 
becoming a little better acquainted with the various 
drills and occupations of the soldier's life in camp. 
Previous to this time the Thirty-seventh had been by 
itself. Now we were temporarily assigned to a brigade 
commanded by General H. L. Briggs (former Colonel of 
the Tenth Massachusetts), and in a division com- 
manded by General Casey, a regular army officer, then 
and afterwards stationed at Washington. There were 
five regiments in all in our brigade and fifteen regiments 
in our division. 

On September 12th the first detail from the Thirty- 
seventh was made for picket duty. Ten men from each 
company were detailed, with similar detachments from 
each of the other regiments, to report at brigade head- 
quarters, and the brigade detail thus collected went to 
division headquarters, and with the details from the 
other brigades, were marched by a staff officer out a 
mile or two to the front, where the picket line had 
previously been located, and we there took our first 
lesson in doing picket duty. We were told that bodies 
of Rebel cavalry or scouts were lurking in the neighbor- 



38 Recollections of the Civil War 

hood and might attack us and attempt to break through 
the line, if we were not watchful. I happened to be 
one of the officers detailed on that occasion, and did not 
get much sleep or rest that night. It was a tedious 
vigil. The night was rainy and in the darkness I 
imagined I could hear sounds and almost see the enemy 
advancing to attack. I think we stayed out twenty-four 
hours. Our line was near Fairfax Court House. Next 
day we returned to camp, and drill commenced in ear- 
nest. On this occasion it was company drill, and I 
devoted the most of the afternoon to it. 

September 14th was Sunday, and Sunday in the 
army, particularly in the morning, is devoted to a 
thorough inspection of the men, their equipments, 
accoutrements, tents, and the camp. Every gun is 
handled by one of the officers, and if a particle of dirt 
or rust or any defect is found in the weapon, the soldier 
to whom it belongs is sent to his quarters to put it in 
perfect order. The same rule applies to the equipments 
and clothing, and after the men are thus inspected, the 
company's quarters are gone through in the same thor- 
ough manner to see that they are clean and in order, 
and woe betide the soldier that is negligent and slovenly 
on Sunday morning. When engaged in the active 
duties of the campaign, it often happens that inspection 
cannot be held, and in stormy weather the routine had 
to be somewhat modified, but the officers of every well 
regulated and disciplined regiment make thorough 
work of the Sunday inspections, and on occasions the 
inspector -general from brigade or division headquarters 
appears and inspects the regiments and makes a report. 

By the 16th of September we began to feel the effect 
of the fight that was going on between the Army of the 
Potomac and the Confederate army at Crampton's 



Going to the War 39 

Pass, and the next day at Antietam in Maryland. We 
were under orders to march on both these days, and at 
times by putting our ears to the ground we could recog- 
nize the sound of distant cannonading, very dimly, but 
with sufficient distinctness to convince us that a battle 
was in progress; and we soon learned from the news- 
papers of the terrible fighting between the two armies 
on the latter day. Antietam is generally recognized as 
the bloodiest single day's battle of the war. It was 
claimed as a victory by the Army of the Potomac 
because they held the field. It is now generally con- 
ceded that it was a drawn battle, but at the time the 
Northern forces got some encouragement from it under 
their claim of victory. Amherst College had cause to 
mourn over the battle of Antietam, because the Pro- 
fessor of Chemistry, Dr. Manross, was killed on that 
day. He was a noble man and a very popular teacher. 

From this time until the end of the month we were 
very busily engaged in regimental drills and in brigade 
and division reviews, which latter events took place as 
often as every other day to familiarize the men and the 
officers with the movements of the troops in large bodies. 

On September 29th, Monday, we were under march- 
ing orders all day. Everything was packed, and we 
waited until evening for the order to fall in, when an 
order came directing us to be in battalion line the next 
morning at daylight, ready to start for Frederick, 
Maryland. By this order twenty regiments, under 
command of General Briggs, were ordered to join the 
Army of the Potomac, and the Thirty-seventh Massa- 
chusetts was assigned to General Devens's brigade in 
the Third Division of the Sixth Corps, commanded by 
General Couch. 1 

1 O. R., xix., Part 2, pp. 368, 373. 



40 Recollections of the Civil War 

The Thirty-seventh started the next morning at six 
o'clock in accordance with this order. Just as the 
regiment was starting I was detailed with fifty men to 
take charge of the brigade camps and turn over the 
government property, tents, etc., and store in Washing- 
ton the regimental property that could not be carried. 
The soldiers were allowed to take blankets, overcoats, 
and only one change of undergarments. The regiment 
spent the night in the Capitol grounds at Washington, 
and were allowed to visit the public buildings. In the 
afternoon of October 1st, they again started on cars, 
but the next morning found them only a dozen miles 
beyond the Relay House. They reached Frederick 
late that afternoon, x and from there commenced their 
march over the Catoctin Mountains towards Sharps- 
burg. On October 5th, Sunday, they arrived at their 
destination, 2 and received a hearty welcome from their 
brothers and neighbors of the Tenth Massachusetts, 
with whom they were to be brigaded for the next two 
years. 

I did not fancy being separated from my regiment, 
but as I was not consulted, I immediately went to 
Washington and it was arranged at General Casey's 
headquarters that I should be furnished with a horse 
and the necessary equipment to enable me to go back 
and forth from Camp Chase to the city. My detail of 
fifty men felt very much as I did, and they wanted to get 
through with their work as soon as possible and rejoin 
their regiments. Accordingly, they worked with a will, 
and in a couple of days had all the brigade property 
ready to be transported to Washington. 

1 Oct. 2d, Bowen, p. 76. 

3 Near Downsville, where they joined the Army of the Potomac. 
Compare Bowen, pp. 81, 88. See War Map 27 (1). 



Going to the War 41 

Upon my reporting this fact to General Casey he 
directed me to take charge of all the other camps of his 
division, and care for the property in the same way 
that I had for those of the brigade with which I was 
connected. This put us back somewhat, but it gave me 
an opportunity to see something of General Casey. I 
found him very communicative. I take the following 
entry from one of my letters written at the time : 

The other day while waiting, I had a long conversation 
with General Casey lasting about two hours. The discus- 
sion ranged through the realms of morals, ethics, politics, 
and war. He is a great admirer of New England, and is 
particularly proud of his native State, Rhode Island. He 
said he would not swap a regiment from New England for 
one from the Middle States with any amount of boot. He 
particularly inquired about the feeling in Massachusetts in 
reference to the President's proclamation, which he entirely 
approved. He was outspoken in his criticism of the mili- 
tary handling of our armies. He said that General McClel- 
lan and his clique were growing fat on the lean ribs of the 
government. He classed Burnside with McClellan, and 
said he was overestimated by the public. He approved 
of Banks and Hooker. He asked me about my education 
and said mathematics was the highest of sciences. He 
quoted passages from the Greek Testament. 

The interview ended with his giving me twenty-five 
six-mule teams to move my stuff from Camp Chase to 
Washington, which I accomplished by the morning of 
October 6th. I then reported to him that my work was 
done, and turned over my vouchers, and with the neces- 
sary transportation for my detail started for Frederick, 
carrying two large bags 1 of regimental mail which we 

1 Weighing about sixty pounds. Letter to his mother Oct. 9, 1862. 



42 Recollections of the Civil War 

got from the Post-office at Washington and agreed to 
deliver to the regiments. 

Before leaving Washington we visited the Capitol, 
and found all of its halls and many of its rooms occupied 
by cots and filled with wounded soldiers. 

At 1 1 p.m., we started for Frederick on a freight train 
and arrived at 5 A.M., October 7th. We took our mail 
bags to a vacant lot near by and began the work of 
assorting and did enough to find several letters for 
ourselves. Then we visited the hospital and talked 
with the wounded soldiers and also with some of the 
citizens. Everybody that we saw was friendly. The 
Thirty-seventh was reported as encamped near Harper's 
Ferry. We slept that night in a saloon on the floor. I 
had no money, and had lived by borrowing for several 
days past. 

Wednesday, October 8th, we started for Harper's 
Ferry about 11 o'clock, and arrived there about 2.30 
p.m. We visited the engine house where John Brown 
made his stand. We were told the Thirty-seventh 
might be at Sandy Hook, about two miles distant, so 
we went there. We called on Colonel Kam of the 
Pennsylvania Bucktails, and learned from him that 
the Thirty-seventh was assigned to Couch's division, 
Franklin's corps, Devens's brigade, and were encamped 
eighteen miles over the hills. We started on foot at 
5.30 p.m. I had only three men of my detail belonging 
to the Thirty-seventh. So we four got a pole and 
strung our mail bags on it, and by turns carried it 
between us, in addition to our knapsacks and arms. It 
was a beautiful moonlight night. Our route lay along 
the base of the Maryland hills with the Potomac on our 
left, but soon left the river to climb the hills. At 10 
p.m. we had made only three miles of progress, and were 



Going to the War 43 

tired enough to halt by a mountain stream that crossed 
the road and get a night's sleep. 

On Thursday, October 9th, we arose at daylight 
after a refreshing sleep, breakfasted on pork and bread, 
and then started on our tramp. We very soon found 
an army wagon going to Sharpsburg, and made an 
arrangement with the driver to take our mail bags, and 
deliver them at Sharpsburg. We could then move more 
rapidly. It was a very picturesque road and country, 
high wooded mountains and beautiful outlooks, but 
the roads were rough and bad. 

As I was descending a hill, I heard some one call: 
"Hallo! Mase Tyler," and looking up recognized Frank 
Walker, then Major on General Couch's staff. He was 
mounted and followed by a troop of orderlies, and was 
very cordial in his greeting to me. General Couch had 
moved his headquarters to take command of the Second 
Corps. He told me where to find the Thirty-seventh. 
After leaving him I pushed on, and arrived at Sharps- 
burg at 1 1 .30 a.m. We had yet seven miles to go before 
reaching our destination. We found our mail bags, 
and arranged for their transportation to the camp of the 
Thirty-seventh, and then got something to eat and went 
forward over Antietam battle-ground, which showed the 
effects of the late battle by its destroyed fences, tram- 
pled fields, prostrate crops, broken down artillery 
caissons, and the decomposed bodies of horses, scat- 
tered among the graves of the dead. We arrived at the 
camp of the Thirty-seventh near Williamsport late in 
the afternoon, October 9th, Thursday, and were most 
heartily welcomed, especially as we brought the first 
mail they had received since they left Camp Chase. 



CHAPTER IV 

WITH THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC UNDER 
McCLELLAN AND BURNSIDE 

OCTOBER, 1862, TO JANUARY, 1863 

THE Thirty-seventh now numbered 971 men. They 
were assigned to a brigade composed of the Second 
Rhode Island, the Thirty-sixth New York, and the 
Seventh and Tenth Massachusetts. The Second Rhode 
Island was originally commanded by Colonel Sloane, 
who was killed at Bull Run, and at present was com- 
manded by Colonel Frank Wheaton, a regular army 
officer and native of Rhode Island. The Thirty-sixth 
New York was a two years regiment, largely composed 
of Irishmen, and was commanded by Colonel W. H. 
Brown. The Seventh Massachusetts was originally 
commanded by Colonel Darius N. Couch, a West Point 
graduate, and afterwards commander of the Second 
Corps, and was now commanded by Colonel David A. 
Russell, also a West Point graduate, and one of the best 
soldiers in the Army of the Potomac. The Tenth 
Massachusetts was originally commanded by Colonel 
Henry L. Briggs, of Pittsfield, of sterling New England 
stock, and upon Colonel Briggs's promotion to be a 
Brigadier-General, for his gallantry at Fair Oaks, he 
was succeeded by General H. L. Eustis. 

The brigade had already made for itself a name for 

44 



Army of the Potomac under McClellan 45 

gallantry and distinguished service on the fields of Fair 
Oaks and Malvern Hill. It was now also the most 
distinctively Massachusetts brigade in the Army of 
the Potomac, and its commander, Brigadier-General 
Charles Devens, was a Massachusetts man of rare gifts, 
distinguished at the bar, and afterwards on the field 
of battle. He was later Attorney-General of the 
United States, and on the Supreme Court Bench of his 
native State, and declined an appointment as one of the 
Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States. 

The Sixth Corps was organized May 18, 1862, by 
uniting Franklin's division with W. F. Smith's division 
of the Fourth Corps, and after the battle of Antietam, 
Couch's division of the Fourth Corps was also trans- 
ferred and became the Third Division of the Sixth 
Corps. General Franklin was in command of the 
corps, and General Couch was promoted to the com- 
mand of the Second Corps, and General Newton to the 
command of our (the Third) Division. At this time 
General Slocum commanded the First Division, and 
General Hancock had just been promoted from the 
command of a brigade in the Sixth Corps to that of a 
division in the Second Corps. 

Among the corps of the Army of the Potomac, the 
Sixth probably stood next to the Second in the number 
and importance of the battles in which it was engaged. 
Colonel Fox, in his book entitled Regimental Losses, at 
page 79, says: 

The history of the Sixth Corps, more than any other, is 
replete with fascinating interest. Its record is invested 
with more of the romance and brilliancy of war. There 
was the successful assault of Marye's Heights; the brilliant 
dash into the rifle-pits at Rappahannock Station ; the deadly 
hand-to-hand fighting in the gloomy thickets of Spottsyl- 



46 Recollections of the Civil War 

vania; the breathless interest which attaches to their lone 
fight at Fort Stevens, where, under the eye of the President, 
they saved the National Capitol from the hand of the 
invader; the victories in the Valley, with the dramatic 
incident at Cedar Creek; and the crowning success at the 
storming of Petersburg. Over all these scenes the Greek 
Cross waved proudly on the banners of the corps, while its 
veteran legions wrought deeds which linked that badge with 
an unfading glory and renown. 

The camp of the Thirty-seventh was situated near a 
small village named Downsville in a beautiful grove 
of oak, chestnut, and walnut trees, with a green sw r ard 
of grass underneath. The heavy soft turf was very 
grateful as a substitute for bedding, because at this 
time the men were for the most part obliged to spread 
their rubber blankets upon the ground and sleep in the 
open air, with their woollen blankets wrapped around 
them, as they had no tents. The quartermaster of our 
regiment had managed, as he went through Harper's 
Ferry, to obtain four or five wall tents with four or five 
extra flies, and the wall tents were used for the accom- 
modation of the officers at headquarters, and the flies 
were distributed to the officers of the various companies, 
each taking one. The fly was simply like a large, long 
sheet stretched over a pole with the sides and ends 
open, and until we were able to enclose them in the rear 
by a brush wall, they only protected us from above. 
The weather was cold, especially at night, and we all 
found it rather difficult to keep warm. There was 
plenty of wood in the vicinity, but for the most part it 
consisted of very large trees, which could not be easily 
cut up or made into firewood or material for houses 
with the tools we had. After a while we managed to 
cover the rear of our officers' quarters with brush and 



Army of the Potomac under McClellan 47 

to build large fires in front, which enabled us to live in 
tolerable comfort. When, however, it rained and the 
wind blew, these tents were not much protection. 

On October 10th, the regiment was under marching 
orders all day. Stuart, the famous cavalry leader of 
the South, had started on his raid around the Army of 
the Potomac. He crossed the Potomac River a few 
miles above Williamsport, and with 2000 followers rode 
entirely around our army, recrossing at White's Ford 
below Harper's Ferry. r 

General Pleasonton with our cavalry tried to over- 
take them, but was unable to do so, although in one day 
he rode eighty miles. Our orders to march were count- 
ermanded that same night, and during the next week 
we were drilled very energetically, having company 
drills in the morning, and battalion drills in the after- 
noon. 

My diary states that the army was exceedingly well 
fed at this time. We had a company mess with a man 
hired to cook for us, and the bill of fare consisted of 
beefsteak, sweet soft bread, butter, battercakes, syrup, 
fried eggs, and potatoes, and sometimes apples and 
other fruit. In order to provide against the dangers of 
smallpox, the surgeons undertook at this time to vac- 
cinate all who had not recently been vaccinated, and a 
large number of men in the Thirty-seventh were sub- 
jected to this ordeal, and some of them were made 
pretty sick by it. 

In a letter dated October 17th written home, I find 
the following account of some of our camp experiences : 

Captain Allen's boy and mine are quietly deciding who 
shall wash the dinner dishes by the toss of a penny. These 

1 See p. 51, footnote 2, relating to White's Ford. 



48 Recollections of the Civil War 

boys are pretty tough specimens. They each have only 
one garment of a kind. When that gets dirty, they will 
take it off and wash it and either wait until it dries, or wear 
it and let it dry on them. It don't matter much which. 
My boy was running around naked yesterday while he 
washed his clothes and waited for them to dry, and as they 
did not dry fast enough to suit him, he concluded to put 
them on and dry them in that way . At this season he 
sleeps on the bare ground with anything or nothing over 
him as it happens. He is now only fourteen. I have one 
rubber blanket which I need to spread on the ground when 
I am on the march, or out on picket duty, and in order to 
provide a proper covering I have just purchased a rubber 
overcoat, which I can use also as a blanket and spread it 
over my woollen blanket to keep off the wet and the rain. It 
only weighs one pound. I was lucky in securing it. Al- 
though our sutler brought into camp a large number of 
them he disposed of them almost immediately. 

On the 1 8th of October, after a hard day's work in 
drilling and in preparation for inspection of the next 
day, which was Sunday, at 6 P.M. we were ordered to 
pack up and march. We started and marched until 
midnight, reaching Clear Spring, at a distance of 
fifteen miles from where we started. We made a short 
stop at Williamsport for the purpose of being reinforced 
by a squadron of cavalry and a battery. The next 
morning (October 19th), after an early call and break- 
fast, we started at 7 o'clock and marched an additional 
fifteen miles with a halt of only two or three hours at 
midday, to Hancock, where we arrived at 4 p.m. This 
was a prett}^ hard march for an unseasoned regiment — 
thirty miles in less than twenty-four hours. Almost 
everybody was complaining of blistered feet and some 
of the men limped very badly. We were comforted 



Army of the Potomac under McClellan 49 

by the report that the Thirty-seventh had fewer strag- 
glers in proportion to its numbers than any of the 
other regiments. 

That night after a short rest at Hancock, Company 
F was detailed to perform picket duty, and in order to 
reach the ground, had to march two or three miles far- 
ther up the Potomac. Our picket line was along the 
bank of the Potomac in a picturesque, grandly beautiful 
country. We enjoyed the scenery and were stimulated 
by the mountain air, but it was very cold. We suf- 
fered a good deal from lack of proper protection against 
the weather. We were relieved from the picket line by 
Company E of our regiment, at four o'clock of the next 
afternoon (October 20th) , and returned to camp near 
Hancock. With an abundant supply of firewood gathered 
from the surrounding forests, and thoroughly wearied 
with our long march and our night duty, we slept 
soundly that night, rested the next day, and retired 
early with the expectation of a good second night's 
rest. Just before midnight, however, the camp was 
aroused by orders to pack up and fall into line, and we 
marched the rest of the night, arriving at Cherry Run, 
ten miles below Hancock on the Potomac, in the morn- 
ing (October 22d). By this time our rations had given 
out, but the train met us from Williamsport, and 
rations were immediately issued, and the troops sbreak- 
fasted on the simple fare of the army — hard-tack and 
coffee. After two hours of rest we moved back a mile 
from the river and encamped. 

We were in the midst of a good farming region, and 
one of our servants obtained a turkey from one of 
the farmers nearby and our mess feasted. Our camp 
was situated in a beautiful forest which was warm and 
peaceful in the protection it gave us from the wind and 



50 Recollections of the Civil War 

cold. From the river bank half a mile distant, we over- 
looked a large area of country, which, however, seemed 
to be commanded by the heights on the southern 
banks. To be sure that no enemy occupied these 
heights, a detachment from the Second Rhode Island 
crossed over and reconnoitred the banks, but found 
no trace of a hostile force. 

Thursday, October 23d, early in the morning, 
brought us marching orders, and after breakfast we 
started eastward, apparently bound for our old camp, 
but after proceeding a short distance we were halted 
by new orders, and with knapsacks packed, loaded with 
accoutrements, and with guns stacked, so as to be ready 
to fall in at a moment's notice, we waited until the 
middle of the afternoon. We were to have hundreds of 
such experiences in subsequent campaigns. These long 
and tedious waits under arms and loads in utter igno- 
rance of what was the cause of the delay were exceed- 
ingly trying to the patience of officers and men, and 
particularly exhausting to the soldiers. There was 
never a march without more or less of it. On this occa- 
sion, after a long wait, we were allowed to return to our 
camp of the previous night, where we remained until 
Monday, October 27th. 

Those four days were days of great discomfort 
because of rain, but we were to some extent protected 
by the forest in which we were encamped, and we were 
able to keep warm by building large fires. The men 
were without tents, everything they touched was wet, 
and their clothes were so soaked with moisture that 
they exhaled steam. 

On the 27th, we received orders to return to Williams- 
port, which we reached about nightfall after a hard 
march over muddy roads and wet by occasional 



Army of the Potomac under McClellan 51 

showers. The next day was spent in getting rested 
and thoroughly dried. The air was full of rumors that 
the Army of the Potomac was going to move. The sick 
had been ordered into permanent hospitals. On Octo- 
ber 29th, at 2 p.m., we left Williamsport, and after a 
march of five miles, reached our old camp near Downs- 
ville, where we slept once more under our flies. 

This excursion to Hancock was probably undertaken 
in anticipation of further raids by General Stuart or 
other cavalry leaders into Pennsylvania. On October 
10th, General Stuart with 2000 cavalrymen had crossed 
the Potomac above Williamsport, and repeated his 
feat of the previous June of going around the Army of 
the Potomac, and returning to Lee's army without the 
loss of a man * 

This raid differed from the former one because it was 
from start to finish on Northern soil, and besides living 
off the country, he was enabled to obtain fresh remounts 
for his entire cavalry force at the expense of his enemies. 
He started on October 10th, and recrossed the Potomac 
at White's Ford 2 below Harper's Ferry on October 13th. 
It was so profitable to the Southern army, and so dis- 
graceful and aggravating to the North, that McClellan, 
after the horse was stolen, determined to fasten the 
barn door, and sent Couch's division on its hurried 
march to Hancock, and when the army was ready to 
move called us back. 

Personally I derived much encouragement from my 
own experience in connection with this excursion. I 



1 See War Map 25 (6), showing route in detail. 

2 Swinton says Stuart "recrossed the Potomac below the mouth of the 
Monocacy" {Army of the Potomac, p. 226). The place referred to 
may be White's Ferry, which exactly fits this description. See p. 247, 
infra, and note. 



52 Recollections of the Civil War 

bore the marching very well, and although I had been 
suffering with camp ailments more or less, both at 
Washington and at Downsville, the trouble all ended 
with me after the march to Hancock. The exposure 
and the hard work of the march thoroughly agreed with 
me, and from that time I steadily gained in strength 
and in health. My weight increased, and within six 
months I had gained over thirty pounds, and during the 
remainder of the season only on very rare occasions, 
and then very slightly, was I troubled with anything 
resembling a cold. 

On Thursday, October 30th, our regiment was sub- 
jected to a thorough inspection, and during the after- 
noon we received orders to be ready to march at 4 
o'clock the next morning. In pursuance of such orders, 
on the following day we started at early dawn, and 
marched twelve miles over rough roads and through 
a hilly region by way of Keedysville to Rohrersville, 
where we went into camp in a picturesque basin among 
the hills and mountains. Encamped on a side of this 
basin the Army of the Potomac with its bright camp- 
fires presented a particularly picturesque scene in the 
evening. 

On Saturday, November 1st, we started at 5 A.M. 
and marched to Berlin on the Potomac, 1 where we 
arrived at 2 p.m. Here we were encouraged by the pros- 
pect of receiving our first pay for services as soldiers. 
The regiment was formed in line and mustered; the 
paymaster with the muster roll in his hands went to 
each company and called from the muster roll the name 
of each man to be paid. The muster rolls with his 

1 Six or seven miles east of Harper's Ferry. See War Map 27 (i), 
which shows all the places named on their line of march as far as White 
Plains, where they arrived November 6th. 



Army of the Potomac under McClellan 53 

memoranda upon them were then returned to the regi- 
mental officers and by them completed, and sent to 
Washington, and we were told that the regiment would 
probably be paid sometime within the next two weeks. 

Our march to-day was through Compton's Gap 1 and 
over the South Mountain Pass near the scene of the 
battle of that name in which General Reno was killed 
on the 14th of last September. We had supper that 
night of bread, butter, and fried eggs. Eggs forty 
cents a dozen, butter forty-five cents a pound, chickens 
$1.50 a pair. Our camp in the vicinity of Berlin was 
quite near to General McClellan's headquarters. 

On the next day, Sunday, after the usual inspection 
the men were allowed to make the most of their day of 
rest until the afternoon. I spent the day below Berlin 
between the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal and the Poto- 
mac. We heard distant cannonading during the day. 
In the afternoon the quartermaster announced that he 
had just received a large supply of clothing for the 
soldiers, and was ready to partially fill the requisitions 
which we had sent in for needed articles while we were 
in camp at Downsville. With the cold weather rapidly 
coming on, and the prospect of an autumn or winter 
campaign before us, this announcement from the quar- 
termaster was greedily welcomed, and the men were 
supplied with winter overcoats, which they especially 
needed, and with such other articles by way of renewals 
as their requisitions had called for. 

On Monday, November 3d, the regiment was formed 

1 Apparently a mistake copied from his original letter home November 
1, 1862, and not corrected. See War Map 27 (3) showing road from 
Rohrersville southeast must take them through Crampton's Gap, but 
not over the South Mountain Pass, which is five miles farther north, 
where General Reno was killed September 14, 1862. (See Ropes, ii., 
344-) 



54 Recollections of the Civil War 

in line at 9 a.m. with the expectation of crossing the 
Potomac on the pontoon bridge at once. After waiting 
four hours for the way to be clear, we took our turn, 
and at 1 p.m. were conscious of being once more on 
"the sacred soil of Virginia." The experience of cross- 
ing the stream on a pontoon bridge for the first time was 
a novelty, and of much interest to the members of the 
regiment. The men were cautioned against keeping 
step on the bridge, lest by the rhythm of their motion 
they should cause a sufficient swing of the bridge to 
break it from its moorings. Once upon the Virginia 
shore, they started off at a good gait, and by nightfall 
had marched thirteen miles, and went into camp in a 
piece of woods by the roadside, sufficiently weary and 
hungry to have a good appetite for supper, and to 
sleep soundly without waking until the next morning. 

At 4 o'clock Tuesday (November 4th), reveille was 
sounded, and by 6 o'clock the men had breakfasted 
and were in line, but the road was blocked by artillery 
and other troops, and our progress was much delayed. 
That night, however, we halted after a march of twelve 
miles at or near a small village known as Union. 

The country between the Potomac and the Rappa- 
hannock rivers in Virginia is intersected by numerous 
narrow and very poor roads, which are here and there 
crossed by small streams, and usually these streams 
are without bridges. The movement of an army 
through such a country and over such highways was a 
difficult undertaking, because the roads were hardly 
wide enough to allow the passing of the troops, the 
wagons, or the artillery, separately ; and it took no little 
planning and ingenuity to move an army of a hundred 
thousand men with its trains of supplies and camp 
equipage through such roads and over so many 



Army of the Potomac under McClellan 55 

unbridged streams. If possible, the artillery and the 
wagons would be given the roads and the men marched 
through the lots or through the woods by the sides of 
the roads. The wagons and men crossing the streams 
would soon churn the river bottoms, and the opposite 
banks would become soaked with the water which was 
carried from the stream by the wheels of the wagons and 
by the feet of the men and horses for hundreds of yards 
beyond the farther banks. Virginia soil when wet 
makes an article of mud that is without a rival. If 
possible, in order to avoid creating such mud-holes, the 
engineers were called and temporary bridges built to 
accommodate the marching troops, but very frequently 
the men were compelled to wade through the streams 
and make their way as best they could through the 
muddy banks. 

On November 5th, Wednesday, we began to see the 
marks of the skirmishes, artillery and cavalry fights, 
indicated by dead horses and here and there an exploded 
artillery caisson, as well as by marks of the bullets and 
shot upon the trees, and noted the tracks of the Rebels 
two days ahead of us all the way. On this day we only 
progressed five miles towards Ashby's Gap to a point a 
little beyond Upperville. 

On Thursday, November 6th, we started at 6 a.m. 
and marched eighteen miles to White Plains, where, 
for the first time in Virginia, we encountered a railroad 
cut and dismantled track. 1 No cars had been run 
since June 1st. It was the coldest day we had yet 
experienced, and as we had not yet received our tents 
we were sleeping every night in the open air. The 
next morning (November 7th) we had our first snow- 
storm, and as no orders to march were received the men 

1 There is no mention in letters of tracks being dismantled. 



56 Recollections of the Civil War 

devoted themselves to keeping warm. It so happened 
that we were out of rations, and during the day the 
report that there was a large and a well stocked farm in 
the near neighborhood led the men to organize parties, 
and to supply themselves with sheep and turkeys during 
that night. As a consequence the next day the army 
was well supplied with fresh mutton and fowls. Such 
raiding was forbidden, and usually the order was 
strictly enforced. But for some reason, which I never 
fully understood, on this occasion the disobedience of 
orders was overlooked, and no one was punished. I 
have always supposed that it was because everybody 
was hungry, and all officers and men had a taste of the 
mutton or the fowls. 

We afterwards learned that by order of the President 
signed and dated November 5th, and delivered No- 
vember 7th, General McClellan was relieved from the 
command of the Army of the Potomac, and General 
Burnside appointed to take command. This probably 
accounts for the absence of movement by the Army of 
the Potomac on this day, and the next day, and on the 
9th of November we only moved seven miles to New 
Baltimore, * where we went into camp. 

On November 10th the troops were formed in lines, 
and the order relieving McClellan was promulgated. 
General McClellan and his staff, with Burnside fol- 
lowing in the rear, rode bareheaded through the army 
from right to left. The air resounded with cheers, 
banners waved, and saluting swords and presented arms 
were all significant of the rare devotion and enthusiasm 
felt by the army for its commander. It was more like 
a triumph than a dismissal. No other commander of 
that army ever had to the same degree its enthusiastic 

3 See War Map 74 (1). 



Army of the Potomac under McClellan 57 

admiration and attachment. On that 10th of Novem- 
ber the feeling in the army was unanimous in his favor, 
and against the authorities in Washington. They felt 
that he was a much wronged man, and had been treated 
very unfairly, and many of them verged on mutiny in 
expressing their sympathy with him, and devotion to 
him. But the sober second thought and sound sense of 
even those who were his strongest friends raised loyalty 
to country far above personal devotion to their leader. 
Burnside felt and acknowledged his own unfitness for 
the position. But the army fought with the same 
resolution and courage at Fredericksburg as at Antie- 
tam, although they did not meet with the same measure 
of success. 

From the nth to the 16th of November we remained 
at or near New Baltimore. Our camp was located on 
the top of a hill. All the water that we used had to be 
brought three quarters of a mile. Wood was scarce and 
small and the weather was raw, emphasized by bleak 
and chilly winds. Manassas Plain was visible for thirty 
miles. On the nth, I had a call from Frank Walker. 
In a letter dated the 12th I wrote home : " I think I never 
saw such universal gloom as the removal of McClellan 
has caused over this army. I had never before in any 
degree appreciated the popularity of McClellan with his 
army. The army had never succeeded under any other 
commander. McClellan organized and made it what it 
is and the talk among the officers and men is almost 
mutinous. It makes me feel very blue. The first 
report was that McClellan was promoted to the com- 
mand of all the armies. When they [the soldiers] 
found that he was removed instead of being promoted, 
there was a tremendous revulsion of feeling in his 
favor." 



58 Recollections of the Civil War 

On Saturday evening, November 15th, we received 
orders to be ready to move in the morning, and pursu- 
ant to such orders the next morning saw us with baggage 
packed and in line ready for the march at an early hour. 
Our route lay through a wild and desolate country 
with very imperfect roads and almost no human habi- 
tations or cultivated lands. Here and there was a 
woodman's hut or a cabin in the midst of a small clear- 
ing. We passed no villages, no court-houses, schools, 
or churches, but at the end of the first day's march 
we were said to be near Catlett's Station. I 

On Monday, November 17th, the country through 
which we passed was of much the same character. We 
wandered through the woods, across roads all day, 
apparently lost, so far as civilized or cultivated sur- 
roundings were concerned, and progressed so slowly 
that at the end of the day we found we had made only 
eight miles from our starting point. 

On Tuesday, November 18th, we acted as guard for 
the wagon train, which is always a very exhausting 
service, and at night reached a temporary camp near 
Stafford Court-House. Our camp was located on low, 
wet ground, and to add to our misery we ran out of 
rations. On the evening of the 19th of November, 
while we were still in this camp, rain set in and our 
teams got stuck in the mud and required a detail of two 
hundred men from our regiment to help pull them out. 
The men were still without tents. If we stood still we 
sank in the mud. We awoke in the middle of the night 
to find that we were lying in pools of water. We tried 

1 Letter of November 19, 1862, says: "The first night we halted at 
Catlett's Station, or rather at Weaversville near there." See War 
Map 22, Plates 5 and 7. A large map of the whole country as far as 
Fredericksburg is shown in War Map 8. 



Army of the Potomac under Burnside 59 

to sleep, but could n't, and finally got up and de- 
voted ourselves to getting dry, with only partial 
success. 

On the 2 1 st the trains arrived and whiskey rations 
were served to the men. On Saturday, the 226. of 
November, the rain ceased during the morning. I was 
sent out a half-mile from camp to guard the ammunition 
train. The weather was still threatening and raw. I 
got warm by boxing with Joe Taylor. On the follow- 
ing day, Sunday, November 23d, I was relieved from 
guard duty at 1 P.M., and returned to camp with my 
detail. We found that we were encamped on the high- 
way from Aquia Creek Landing to Fredericksburg. 
The Chaplain held services at 2 p.m. — the first time for 
more than a month. The mail was then distributed, 
and I was made happy by the receipt of five letters. I 
also received a copy of the New York Independent, 
and during the afternoon entertained the boys of my 
company by reading one of Beecher's sermons which 
seemed to be much enjoyed. 

On November 25th, the entire regiment was ordered 
out five miles from camp to do picket duty. On the 
26th, Wednesday, we returned to camp in the after- 
noon, and during the evening were greatly rejoiced by 
the arrival of Mr. Birnie from Springfield with boxes 
and bundles from home for the regiment. I was lieu- 
tenant of the guard on that day, and it was part of my 
duty to receive those boxes and to take care of them 
until they could be distributed. 

Thursday, November 27th, Thanksgiving Day. In 
the morning after religious services the battalion was 
formed in the shape of a hollow square, Colonel Edwards 
read the Governor's proclamation, and under my com- 
mand the guards brought in and unpacked the boxes, 



60 Recollections of the Civil War 

and Mr. Birnie distributed their contents to the various 
companies and individuals entitled. 

My Thanksgiving dinner was hardtack and beefsteak, 
and for supper we had rice and hardtack, but it was a 
busy day, crowded with thoughts and memories of 
home. During the evening the knapsacks left by the 
regiment at Washington on September 30th, and which 
I had stored for the regiment, were returned and 
delivered to the men. 

On November 29th, the paymaster arrived and com- 
menced to pay the regiments in our brigade. The 
Thirty-seventh was not reached until November 30th, 
and I was passed on that day on account of my second 
lieutenancy in the Thirty-sixth. 

To a certain extent we had by this time begun the 
erection of log cabins with large open fireplaces and 
barrels for chimneys. The older regiments of the army 
had learned to make them during the previous winter, 
and we very soon copied the example, and to a certain 
extent were sheltered in such houses. The men in the 
ranks had to use their rubber blankets for coverings of 
the roofs, because as yet we had not received our tents, 
and in this respect the officers were not much better off 
than the men. The difference was in the fact that 
they had more rubber blankets. 

The paymaster finished his task of paying the regi- 
ments of our brigade on the 2d day of December. 
During our money famine, which to this time had been 
continuous, our sutler's tent looked like a deserted house. 
With the advent of the paymaster, wagons loaded with 
all kinds of temptation for the officers and men seemed 
to come out of the woods in every direction. During 
the periods intervening between the paymaster's visits, 
orders on the paymaster were given by the soldiers, 



Army of the Potomac under Burnside 61 

and taken by the sutler in payment for his wares to a 
moderate extent. At these times he did not suggest 
purchases by display of goods, but when they had cash 
in their pockets, his tent was a department store. 

On December 3d, Colonel Edwards invited Captain 
Allen and me to accompany him in a call upon General 
Devens. The General received us very cordially. I 
was particularly impressed with the clearness and delib- 
eration with which he expressed his opinions. He was 
a good specimen of a sturdy New Englander. 

On December 4th, we received orders to march, after 
the companies which were detailed for picket duty had 
returned to camp. We started at 10 a.m., but made 
slow progress owing to the narrowness of the road and 
its occupation by teams. Evening found us in the 
vicinity of Belle Plain after a march of ten miles, where 
we bivouacked for the night in a forest where wood and 
water were plenty. The next morning (December 5th) , 
we started at 6, and after marching six miles went into 
camp at 11 o'clock, in the vicinity of King George's 
County Court-House, 1 in an oak forest which in its 
location and surroundings seemed well adapted for a 
winter camp. An envious fate refused to let us enjoy it. 
After a two hours' stay we started again in the rain, 
moved a mile, and went into camp on a hillside covered 
with a growth of young pines unfit for fuel, and yet 
there was no other at hand. We tried to build fires, 

1 This is probably an error based on letter of December 6th dated 
"Camp near King George Court-House," which was corrected in his 
next letter dated " Camp near White Oak Church, December 9, 1862," 
where he explains, "The last time I wrote I dated my letter from another 
place because I did not know exactly where we were. I have however 
since found out and date accordingly." As King George C. H. was 
many miles out of their course, the camp on December 5th was more 
probably near White Oak Church. See War Map 100 (1). 



62 Recollections of the Civil War 

but the fuel would not burn, while it filled the air with 
a pungent smoke that was painful to the eyes and dis- 
agreeable to breathe. It rained all day, finally chang- 
ing into a cold, dismal snow-storm, which cleared off in 
the night, and this was followed by several days of 
bitterly cold weather, during which the only way we 
could keep warm was by exercise. We found a distant 
piece of woods where we cut down the trees and made 
them into four-foot logs, which the soldiers would carry 
on their shoulders a half-mile or more to feed their fires 
to keep them warm. We stayed in this uncomfortable 
camp until December nth. It was appropriately 
named by the soldiers "Camp Misery on Smoky Hill." 

During that winter I became quite expert in the use of 
an axe. I felled trees and cut and split them into logs 
and fuel lengths, and thus got warmth and exercise 
during the period when we were without tents or huts. 

On Thursday, December nth, we were aroused at 
3.30, left camp at 5 a.m., and after a rapid march, 
arrived at 1 1 o'clock at a point on the north bank of 
the Rappahannock River near Franklin's Crossing. 
We filed into a depressed meadow between two hills 
and stacked arms, and the men took off their knapsacks 
and waited. 

Two pontoon bridges were being built at Franklin's 
Crossing, 1 and to Devens's brigade was assigned the 
honor of leading the way across the river. The Second 
Rhode Island was selected to cross on the upper bridge, 
while the Thirty-seventh Massachusetts was to cross 
at the same time on the lower bridge, and they were to 
be followed by the left grand division, consisting of the 
First and Sixth Corps of the Army of the Potomac 

1 See War Map 33 (1). The location of the pontoons is shown on 
Map 63 (7). 



Army of the Potomac under Burnside 63 

under the command of General Franklin. Meanwhile, 
in front of Fredericksburg, General Burnside had been 
engaged from early morning in an abortive attempt to 
build two other pontoons, with the result that Rebel 
sharpshooters occupying the basements of the build- 
ings upon the opposite banks in defiance of all the 
artillery that he could train upon these buildings shot 
the pontooners as fast as they appeared to build the 
bridges. 

While my regiment was waiting in the meadow I 
ascended a neighboring hill and watched the bombard- 
ment of the city. The Federal guns were pouring shot 
and shell into the city with apparent effect, but the 
moment bridge building was renewed the deadly bullets 
flew. Later in the day a number of pontoons were 
launched and selected soldiers sprang into them and 
were rowed across the river and they drove out the 
sharpshooters from their hiding places, and occupied 
the streets in that part of the city until the bridges were 
laid. 

At about 5 p.m., the Thirty-seventh Massachusetts 
and Second Rhode Island simultaneously started across 
the bridges at Franklin's Crossing. General Devens 
and Colonel Edwards led the way on the lower bridge, 
closely followed by Company F of the Thirty-seventh. 
The Second Rhode Island deployed a skirmish line on 
reaching the farther bank. The coast had been cleared 
by a searching artillery fire, and the bend of the river 
selected for the bridges was favorable to the control of 
the farther shore from our side. The result was that 
the crossing was not opposed, and in a very short time 
we were in line upon the plain, — a division strong. 
Then the powers in control decided to trust the keeping 
of the south bank at that point to the unaided posses- 



64 Recollections of the Civil War 

sion of Devens's brigade, and the other brigades of the 
division were withdrawn for the night to the north 
bank. It was bitterly cold, and we could have no 
fires, and our position in line did not allow of much 
motion. We found an enormous pile of straw near by, 
and the men wrapped it around their feet and took turns 
in lying down upon it or in it. But it was a weary 
night, and Jackson's corps was in our front. What rest 
we got was with arms in hand. Morning finally came 
and was never more welcome. 

Friday, December 12th, was devoted to getting the 
Army of the Potomac across the river and into position 
on its south side. It was a very awkward field on which 
to fight a battle. In our front was a wooded ridge 
rising one or two hundred feet, which bends away from 
the river and leaves a wide and fertile plain at the point 
where we were ; while farther north and back of the city 
of Fredericksburg, the slope was gradual from the city's 
edge to the foot of a high terrace. This terrace was 
surmounted by sightly residences, and at its base, 
skirting it for a long distance, was a sunken road with a 
solid stone wall, which here and there protected the road 
from attack and hid it from sight of those approaching 
the city. Between the city and the plain where Frank- 
lin's left grand division was deployed ran two consid- 
erable streams, one of them named Deep Run, and the 
other Hazel Run. The latter was called fordable, the 
former was not. The practical effect of this was to 
divide our forces into two armies. Sumner's right 
grand division, with four divisions from Hooker's centre 
grand division, was to assault the heights back of the 
city, and Franklin's left grand division, with Hooker's 
two other divisions, was to attack the fortified hills 
opposite the plains below the city. While the armies 



Army of the Potomac under Burnside 65 

were getting into position on the 12th we rested, and 
watched the long lines file across the river and take their 
places on the plain. 

About 11 a.m., on December 13th, the fighting began 
in earnest. On the right Sumner struggled all day long 
to drive the Rebels from the sunken road, but his heroic 
endeavors were unable to effect a lodgment, and at 
night his losses numbered toward 9000 men, with very- 
little to show in return, save the honor of having faith- 
fully tried to accomplish the impossible. 

On the left, near noon, the First Corps of Franklin's 
army, assisted by two divisions of the Third Corps, 
made a fruitless attempt to seize or break through 
Jackson's line with a loss of 4000 men. The Sixth 
Corps, with Newton's division in reserve, formed the 
right of Franklin's army. 1 They lost some men on the 
skirmish line and listened to the whistle of the bullets 
and the scream of the shells over their heads for two or 
three hours. At length, about 3 p.m., our (Newton's) 
division was formed in line, and we were double-quicked 
to the left about a mile, where we lay closely hugging the 
ground amid the furrows of a last year's cornfield, while 
shot and shell at intervals during two hours shrieked and 
tore through the air just over our prostrate bodies. We 
were in the second or third line of battle, and once were 
ordered forward, but for some reason the order was 
countermanded before we had proceeded far. After 
dark we were withdrawn to the rear about a mile, and 
passed the night in comparative quiet with a fair 
amount of sleep. 

1 Newton's division was the Third, of which the Second Brigade, 
Brigadier-General Charles Devens, Jr., commanding, comprised the 
Seventh, Tenth, Thirty-seventh Massachusetts, Thirty-sixth New York, 
and Second Rhode Island (O. R., xxi., pp. 59, 60). 



66 Recollections of the Civil War 

On Sunday, December 14th, we remained all day 
where we bivouacked the previous evening. Our 
principal occupation was watching the troops cross the 
river and go to the front. A feeling of gloom pervaded 
the army ; but we knew nothing of the particulars of the 
battle already fought. In the evening there was a 
general disposition to sing hymns. The movement 
started and spread through the part of the army where 
we were encamped. 

On Monday, December 15th, we were aroused at 
2 a.m., and at 4 we moved forward and supported 
a New Jersey battery near the Richmond Road, and 
were there all day. After dark the troops were with- 
drawn and recrossed the Rappahannock. I was 
detailed to take charge of the "alarm picket." We 
were stationed in front of the line occupied by our 
troops. At 11 P.M., I was recalled and with my 
detail rejoined my regiment, and with the brigade we 
stood in line while the balance of the grand division 
marched through us and across the river. About 2 
A.M. of the 1 6th of December, our brigade recrossed; 
the Thirty-seventh being the last to cross on one of the 
bridges. The engineers then took up the bridges and 
the pickets were brought over in the boats. z 

1 In a letter dated "Left Bank of the Rappahannock, 8 a.m. Wednes- 
day, December 17th, 1862," he wrote to his parents an account of this 
Sunday and Monday: "We spent a very quiet Sunday. ... In the 
afternoon I read. ... In the evening I went down with the captain to 
hear him and one or two of the singers of the regiment sing for awhile. 
Captain has great taste for music, and a very nice voice, and it is a great 
pleasure to hear him sing with our other amateurs, among whom we 
number some superb singers. . . . We retired about ten o'clock and 
then were awakened at two in the morning . . . and at four were on the 
move to the front, where we arrived about five, and arranged ourselves 
so as to support the batteries on our line of battle. We lay there all day 
without anything of importance occurring, except in the afternoon it was 



Army of the Potomac under Burnside 67 

General Newton, in his official report, says: "My 
obligations are due to all according to their oppor- 
tunities, but especially to Brigadier-General Charles 
Devens, who commanded the advance and rear guard 
in the crossing and recrossing of the river. . . . The 
division was never seriously engaged, but manifested a 
becoming readiness for action, and great fortitude and 
steadiness under the shelling of the enemy." 1 

The Thirty-seventh had one man killed, and one man 
wounded, in this, its baptismal battle. 2 

Rain set in before midnight, and added much to the 
gloom of the occasion. After crossing the river, we 
marched a mile to the rear and slept in a drenching 
rain the rest of the night. 

It took us several days to recover the full possession 
of our faculties, and an unusual number from the regi- 



discovered that the rebels were attempting to entrench about a mile to 
the front in a piece of woods. 

"We shelled them immediately, and they skedaddled quick, a whole 
regiment of them, I should say. After shelling about a half an hour, we 
resumed our quiet again, and lay there until evening, when I was sent 
with some dozen men from our right wing as an alarm picket. So I 
went to my work supposing I had an all night's job before me, but about 
eleven o'clock I was ordered to draw in my pickets as quietly as possible. 
I was so astonished that I hardly knew what to do, but I obeyed, and on 
returning found the regiment drawn up ready for a move, where, I then 
knew not, but we quietly moved away first to our left, so that I had an 
idea for the moment that we were merely going to take a position farther 
to the left, but I was soon undeceived by the turning of the regiment to 
the rear again. So back we went to the river's bank and drew up in line 
of battle until all the other divisions and brigades had passed, and then 
our regiment crossed while the rest of the brigade waited for the drawing 
in of the outer line of pickets. So we were the first to cross, and almost 
the last to recross (our brigade was the last.) 

"We then came up here about half a mile or a mile, and encamped. 
But we had run almost all the way clear from the front, and were decid- 
edly tired when we halted for the night about 3 o'clock A.M., and then 

1 0. R. vol. xxi., p. 535. 2 O. R., vol. xxi., p. 142. 



68 Recollections of the Civil War 

ment went to the hospital. We moved camp once or 
twice, and the greater part of our time and energy was 
absorbed in procuring fuel and keeping the fires burning. 
Drilling was resumed on December 226., and on the 
23d Rev. Mr. Cooke appeared in camp as the bearer 
of Christmas cheer to the boys of the Thirty-seventh, 
although his boxes did not arrive until January 5th, 
and meanwhile, Mr. Cooke had to return to Washington 
with our regimental quartermaster to assist him in 
securing transportation for his boxes. 

My only diversion, beyond ordinary camp life, that 
I enjoyed on Christmas Day was due to a call from 
Frank Walker, who dropped in to see me in the after- 
noon, and I subsequently learned that my father left 
home on that afternoon, and after a brief stay in New 
York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, in each 

we slept in a drenching rain until the morning. Yesterday we pitched 
our tents again and are now waiting further orders. Such is the part we 
acted in the famous passage of the Rappahannock. I little expected to 
get out of it with so little harm, only one killed and two wounded. . . . 
"I saw a good deal of the battle, and heard more of it, and I don't 
think the rebels drove us at any one point, certainly on the left. But 
their front line of batteries was certainly very strong and nobody knew 
what they had to the rear. We however hear it reported that in the 
balloon reconnoissance made by General Burnside their line of bat- 
talions to the rear was found to be perfectly impregnable, and we knew 
that if we stayed there another day we should be shelled most terrifically, 
and so our generals thought it best to retire. It was, I think, however, a 
disheartening step to the troops, they looked upon it as bad as defeat. 
It is reported that General Newton, the commander of our division, was 
so chagrined that he told General Franklin that he would take his divi- 
sion and go to the top of those hills in spite of everything, and hold them 
too! We rather expected to move down the river the same night to 
effect a flank movement, but our generals did not see fit, and where we 
are going next I am sure I don't know, although I should like to very well. 
I however have gained one thing. I have seen the Rebs, and seen a 
battle, and almost been in it. Indeed, some of the old regiments told us 
when we lay up in the left Saturday afternoon and evening that they 
never had been under severer shelling than that was." 



Army of the Potomac under Burnside 69 

of which cities he called on friends, he arrived in camp 
on January 2d. I spent New Year's Day and the 
three succeeding days on picket. Our picket line 
extended from Pollock's mill on the left, to a point on 
the river bank near where our pontoon bridges were 
laid in December. 

On board the boat from Washington to Aquia 
Creek, father made the acquaintance of General Shaler, 
and he kindly escorted him to our camp. It was very 
aggravating to me to be on duty at that time, but 
father improved the time by calling on General Cald- 
well, Colonel Frank Walker, and Colonel Clark, and I 
returned to camp on the 4th, and enjoyed three happy 
days of visiting with him. On the afternoon of the 5th 
of January, Mr. Cooke returned from Washington with 
our Christmas boxes, and we feasted on home dainties 
for several days. All my home neighbors had con- 
tributed to my box, and it was rich in cake, preserved 
meats, fruits, pickles, and a large number of articles 
made by the ladies intended for my comfort in camp. 

On January 7th, father and Mr. Cooke left for home, 
and we settled down to the dull routine of camp life. 
Meanwhile, our shelter tents had arrived, greatly to 
the joy of the whole regiment. The weather was too 
unsettled to allow our drilling with much regularity. 
Our camp was poorly situated on rather low ground t 
and the feeling was pretty general in the regiment that 
much of the prevailing sickness was due to this fact. 

On January 16th, Lieutenant-Colonel Goodrich was 
discharged from the service by the acceptance of his 
resignation as lieutenant-colonel. The experience that 
he had had in the campaign convinced him that he was 
too old to bear the privations and hardships incident to 
that life. This produced a vacancy, and Major Mon- 



70 Recollections of the Civil War 

tague was recommended immediately for promotion, 
and Captain Allen of Company F was recommended to 
take the vacancy created by Colonel Montague's 
promotion. General Devens insisted upon his right of 
examining the candidates for promotion before their 
names were sent forward to Governor Andrew, and with 
one or two other first lieutenants, whose names were 
suggested by Colonel Edwards, I was directed to appear 
before General Devens for such examination. With 
the experience that I had already had, I felt that I was 
equal to the exposures and hardships of field service. 
After submitting to the examination required by Gen- 
eral Devens I was very happy to receive his recom- 
mendation for my promotion to the captaincy of my 
own company, which I accordingly received. 

Forty-three years afterwards on the occasion of the 
dedication of the monument erected by the Common- 
wealth of Massachusetts and the city of Worcester to 
the memory of General Devens, and dedicated on the 
4th of July of that year, it was my privilege to com- 
mand the survivors of General Devens's old brigade, 
who were present to participate in the dedicatory 
exercises. It brought very vividly to mind my slight 
acquaintance with him, and in particular the courteous 
and cordial way in which he treated me on the occasion 
in January, 1863, when I appeared before him as a 
candidate for promotion to the captaincy of Company 
F in the Thirty-seventh. 

On January 19 th we were ordered out on picket duty, 
and on the 20th were, suddenly and unexpectedly to us, 
recalled to camp to join the movement inaugurated 
on that day by General Burnside, and which in history 
is known as "The Mud Campaign." We started about 
noon. The skies and the atmosphere portended as 



Army of the Potomac under Burnside 71 

favorable conditions as we could possibly have desired 
if Providence had given us the ordering. The air was 
balmy and the sun shone bright. We marched up the 
river seven miles, and about 5 p.m. halted in a beautiful 
piece of pine woods. As we lighted our evening fires in 
the forest the scene was worthy of the fairies, and as we 
knew very little of our destination there was no dis- 
position to doubt or to fear. Before midnight the rain 
set in and increased in amount all night. By morning 
it was a flood. The ground on which we slept was 
soaked, and our rubber blankets and coats did not pro- 
tect us from the pelting storm. Our start had been so 
unexpected that very little provision had been made for 
the march, so we had hardtack, but very little else. 

They attempted to move us across lots so as not to 
interfere with the movement of the teams and our 
artillery. We started early in the morning, but by 
ten o'clock we found that the roads were full of wagons, 
artillery and pontoons which were stuck in the mud 
and could not be moved, while the army moving by the 
side of the roads was gradually churning the soil into 
sloughs which were growing deeper and deeper and 
threatening to engulf us. Finally, after we had ad- 
vanced only two or three miles, we filed into a woods 
and details were made of the men to help pull the 
wheeled conveyances of the army out of the mire. At 
this we made very little progress. They seemed to be 
sinking deeper and deeper, and the rain showed little 
inclination to cease. Sixteen horses could not move one 
pontoon with men to help. We went into camp near 
the river, and established a picket line. While the 
Confederates laughed and jeered at us, our only resource 
was to build fires and try to get dry and wait for the 
storm to subside. The men were soaked, and as an 



72 Recollections of the Civil War 

antidote whiskey rations were issued, and as the soldiers 
had eaten a very light breakfast, the whiskey was ef- 
fective enough to make many of them very drowsy. 

I was actually soaked to my knees and plastered with 
mud above my hips. During the afternoon the rain 
lessened in quantity. We built huge fires and dried 
ourselves as well as we could, and then lay down in our 
camp clothes and slept most peacefully. The next day 
(22d) we got thoroughly dried, and on January 23d, 
under marching orders at daybreak — destination un- 
known, — we started, faced towards our old camp, and 
after plodding for many miles through woods and fields 
for the purpose of avoiding the muddy roads, we reached 
there at 2 p.m. to find that in our absence it had been 
pilfered and sacked ; but the huts were there, and in our 
disconsolate condition we welcomed them as if they 
were homes. 

Burnside was relieved from the command of the 
army, and the ever hopeful soldiers girded themselves 
for further struggles. 



CHAPTER V 

THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC UNDER GENERAL 

HOOKER 

JANUARY 26 TO JUNE 27, 1863 

ONCE more the War Department and the President 
were called upon to select a commander for the 
Army of the Potomac. Stanton was at the head of the 
War Department. He was an excellent man to watch 
over the expenses, but he had neither military education 
nor experience. Halleck was still acting as adviser, but 
he was only a theorist. General Scott had retired. 
McDowell had failed at Bull Run. McClellan was an 
excellent organizer and engineer, but too slow to com- 
pete with Lee and Jackson in the field. Banks, Sigel, 
and Pope had been slaughtered in quick succession by 
Jackson. Burnside had proved the worst failure of all. 
The question was who next should be tried, and the lot 
fell upon General Hooker. 

Hooker had proved himself brave and aggressive as 
a division and a corps commander at Williamsburg 
and Antietam, but he was suspected of disloyalty to his 
chief at Fredericksburg. In the military and political 
councils at Washington, his chief backer was Secretary 
Chase, while all the rest of the Presidential Cabinet, 
and the corps commanders in the Army of the Potomac, 
pronounced him incapable of the task devolving upon 

73 



74 Recollections of the Civil War 

the commander of the Army of the Potomac at this 
juncture. No one else was in sight, and President 
Lincoln finally wrote him a stinging letter of reproach 
for his faults in the past, and appointed him commander 
of the Army of the Potomac. * Meanwhile, the Army of 
Northern Virginia, under Lee and his able subordinates, 
was educating a body of corps, division, and brigade 
commanders, who, already possessed of natural apti- 
tude and experience, were making of that army a 
unified force that could be handled with consummate 
skill by its great leader, General Robert E. Lee. The 
commander-in-chief understood his corps commanders, 
who in turn were as thoroughly and ably sustained and 
re-enforced by their division, brigade, and regimental 
commanders as any who ever took the field. In the 
Army of the Potomac these elements had constantly 
changed, while in the Army of Northern Virginia, they 
had been educated into unified and co-operating forces. 
In the Army of the Potomac distinguished officers were 
few. In the Army of Northern Virginia they were 
legion. 

At the time General Hooker was made the com- 
mander of the Army of the Potomac, General Sedgwick 
was assigned to the command of the Sixth Corps. His 
name is more thoroughly identified with that of the 
Sixth Corps than the name of any other officer. He 
had had a large experience in army life, was brave to a 
fault, decided in his views, cautious and judicious in his 
leadership, and he particularly endeared himself to the 
soldiers of his command by his tender and considerate 
care for their lives and for their comfort. 

General Hooker took command of the army on the 
26th day of January, 1863, and immediately went to 

• Complete Works, Nicolay and Hay, vol. ii., p. 306. 






Army of the Potomac under Hooker 75 

work to reorganize the army and to bind it into an 
efficient whole. He reorganized the cavalry and the 
artillery; trained and drilled them into much more 
efficient bodies than they had ever been before. The 
organization into three grand divisions he abandoned, 
strengthened the corps organizations, and adopted 
emblems for each corps and department of the army to 
be worn by the soldiers in a prominent position upon 
their caps, and thereby show at a glance to what part 
of the service they belonged, as well as to what corps, 
division, or brigade. He saw that the army was well 
clothed and well fed, and encouraged it, by giving each 
man or officer a furlough or leave of absence for ten or 
fifteen days, to return home and get a new supply of 
health and courage. 1 

1 In letter dated "White Oak Church, February 2, 1863," M. W. T. 
wrote: "They are going to give furloughs to one private in each com- 
pany and to two line officers and one staff officer, of ten days' duration 
each, and I have been settling who should go in my company by lot 
this afternoon. . . . Married men have the preference in these furloughs, 
so that my chances are small. ..." 

The following interesting glimpse behind the scenes of the great con- 
flict at this time is contained in the same letter: "I have just returned 
from a three days' picket tour. . . . This is the pleasantest tour of 
picket we have enjoyed yet. I had something of a chance to communi- 
cate with the Rebs this time, and improved it by talking with them 
across the river some ten minutes twice. We found the Forty-eighth 
Alabama regiment doing picket on the opposite side of the river, and a 
very polite, affable young man came down and conversed with several 
of us officers. He asked us what we thought of peace over on this side, 
said they wanted it much. I asked them if they were willing to come 
back into the Union, he said he was willing to, but he did not suppose 
their side were. He said they had plenty of rations of flour and such, 
but no tea or coffee. They wanted very much to get hold of our papers 
and of their own accord every day sent over their Richmond dailies. 
They came over one day of their own accord and played euchre with 
some of the regiment above us, and were very anxious to trade tobacco 
and sugar for coffee, etc. They were very polite indeed, and before our 
departure to-day they announced the sinking of our iron-clads in Charles- 



76 Recollections of the Civil War 

Inspections were frequent, discipline was strict, and 
the army was subjected to constant and severe drills 
and exercises by regiments, brigades, and divisions. 
The numbers and strength of the regiments were also 
reinforced by recruits and by compelling the soldiers 
that were detailed for special duties to return and take 
their places in the ranks. In fact, the whole army was 
impressed with the feeling that strength, energy, and 
intelligence were all working together at headquarters 
and producing lasting results in the line of efficiency. 

The Thirty-seventh at first returned to the camp 
which they had occupied just before their departure 
on the "Mud Campaign," but after remaining there a 
month, a new camp was selected by Colonel Edwards, 
laid out, and built upon well-devised and improved 
plans. Early in March we moved into it, and under 
the influence of the generally improved conditions our 
camp was put into better shape than any camp we had 
previously occupied. It was ornamented with arches 
and evergreen bowers and attractive enclosures. The 
huts and streets were constantly cleaned and every 
attention was paid to the health of the men and the care 
of the camp. During the spring, Captain Lincoln and 
I had frequent opportunities of seeing soldiers from 
Amherst in other regiments, and called now at the 
Second Corps on General Walker and General Caldwell, 



ton Harbor, and the opening of the port. Whether this is true or not 
we are as yet in the dark, but hope it may prove a canard. I hear that 
Hooker has issued most stringent orders against having any communi- 
cation with the Reb pickets. So that I suppose in the future we shall 
be unable to either receive or give papers, and shall have to live in the 
dark. I felt some inclination to go over and talk with them awhile, as 
they invited us to, but thought it would be running too much risk, as 
we had orders not to communicate with them, even through papers, 
and they said they had the same." 



Army of the Potomac under Hooker 77 

and now at the Fifth Corps on Captain Shepard of the 
Class of i860, Amherst College, and again at the Ninth 
Corps on our friends of the Twenty-first Massachusetts 
who enlisted with Colonel Clark. 

Among the other luxuries that were provided under 
General Hooker's direction was soft bread for the whole 
army, which was baked in brick ovens erected espe- 
cially for that purpose, and which, with the abundance 
of vegetables and fresh meat, also provided by his 
orders, made us think that we were living in great 
luxury. During the latter part of February the good 
people of Amherst and vicinity provided us with a fresh 
box of dainties, which were very gratefully received and 
appreciated. By the latter part of February, under 
the fuel requirements of so many men, the whole 
country in the neighborhood of the army was pretty 
thoroughly cleared of everything in the shape of wood, 
and the result was that the army teams were kept busy 
going to distant points with details and bringing in 
supplies of wood for the use of the different regiments. 
Stumps were visible here and there, but the forest had 
all disappeared as far as the eye could see. 

During the latter part of March it became my turn 
to go on leave of absence. Captain Lincoln and I 
arranged so that we could be in Amherst together part 
of our time, and it so happened that our classmate 
Vance had just been promoted from captaincy to a 
majority in an Indiana regiment, and we three met in 
Amherst and spent a very pleasant ten days. 

Of course, we were entertained and lionized as the 
returning soldiers were at that time. We were full of 
hope and the buoyancy of youth, and we did not allow 
the shadows of our adversities or the prospect of the 
hard campaign for which we were preparing, to render 



78 Recollections of the Civil War 

us otherwise than cheerful and happy. We had a 
delightful vacation crowded with many pleasures, and 
when the time for our return arrived we bade our 
families and friends a cheerful good-by and started for 
the front. The train on which I started from New York 
to Philadelphia met with an accident which delayed 
me some four or five hours. 

When I reached Philadelphia I was troubled with a 
toothache, and concluded to stop over and obtain the 
services of a dentist, which I accordingly did with the 
aid of my college friend, Horace Binny, 3d. This 
delayed me for one afternoon. At midnight I again 
started for Washington, but arrived there just too late 
to take the Aquia Creek boat for that day, and con- 
sequently was obliged to remain in Washington until 
the morrow. 

However, I reached camp at 3 o'clock in the after- 
noon of April 6th. 1 I found that the army was pre- 
paring for a grand review to be held on the next day, 
before the President of the United States. This re- 
view was on a grander scale than any military pageant 
in which we had previously participated. Four corps 
were reviewed and the Sixth Corps was in the lead. No 
pains were spared by the commander-in-chief to make 

1 An incident of the camp life at this time is found in a letter to his 
mother of this date: "When I arrived this afternoon I found the officers 
with Colonel Edwards at their head all out playing ball. Games are all 
the rage now in the Army of the Potomac." And again on the 10th of 
the same month: "To-day the sun shines very bright and the air is 
beautifully clear and the wind is fast drying up the mud . Our camp is 
alive with ball-players, almost every street having its game. My boy 
Jimmie is so busy playing that he hardly knows how to stop to do my 
errands. He can play ball with the best of them, and pitching quoits 
he can beat anybody in my company, captain and all. . . . General 
Sedgwick was over here yesterday looking through our camp, and said 
it was the best he had seen." 




SAMUEL C. VANCE. 

RUFUS P. LINCOLN. 

MASON W. TYLER. 

From a tintype taken probably during their furlough in Amherst, in March, 1863. 



Army of the Potomac under Hooker 79 

it a perfect success. The different corps got into line 
without delay and they succeeded each other in their 
march before the reviewing stand with rapidity and 
regularity. The generals and their staffs, equipped 
in their fine regalia, blazing with gilt and gold, were in 
constant motion all over the field. Cannons fired a 
salute, and the President, followed by General Hooker 
and his staff, rode down the line. We saluted, and the 
President tried to manage his tall hat and make it do 
duty by way of returning the salute, and considering his 
awkwardness,- he succeeded fairly well. We started at 
7.30 in the morning, and returning reached our camp 
about 1 o'clock in the afternoon. Such reviews well 
and successfully conducted are very inspiring to the 
soldiers, and on this occasion every man and officer 
seemed to feel, as we never had felt before, that 
we had grown to be a fine army, and that we were 
bound to give a good account of ourselves. I never 
knew the Army of the Potomac to be so inspired with 
confidence in its future as it was at this time. Fur- 
loughs and leaves of absence now ceased, and every 
available man was called back to join his command. I 

1 In a letter dated "White Oak Church, Va., April 14, 1863," he wrote: 
"The enthusiasm of the troops is very high at the present time, and all 
hands agree in declaring that the army was never in so fine a condition 
before, not even when we went on to the Peninsula with full ranks. 
The cavalry marched Monday, and the artillery followed yesterday. 
Zenas Bliss dropped in suddenly upon us Monday. He is reporting for 
the Boston Journal just at present, and of course is looking out for a 
fight. He stayed with me last night. . . ." 

April 19, 1863, he wrote: "Zenas Bliss came back night before last 
and spent the night and part of the day yesterday with me. The day 
before that he spent at General Hooker's headquarters, and took supper, 
spending the evening in company with Senator Wilson and General Joe, 
sleeping that night in the bed occupied by President Lincoln when here, 
and remaining for breakfast. He told me a good many things that he 
heard General Hooker say, although he was pretty close-mouthed, and 



82 Recollections of the Civil War 

General Lee with an army of 58,000 men saw that his 
adversary was in a net, and disposed his force so as to 
hold him there with 30,000 men while he sent Jackson 
with the remainder of his army, amounting to 26,000 
men, by a long detour around the right flank of the 
Army of the Potomac in an endeavor to cut that army 
off from its line of retreat over the United States Ford. 
He succeeded in crushing the right wing of the Army of 
the Potomac, consisting of the Eleventh and Twelfth 
Corps, and producing such disorder and confusion in 
the arrangement of its lines of battle that it was prac- 
tically paralyzed as an army. 

Stonewall Jackson was killed just as he was organiz- 
ing his troops in one last desperate attempt to seize 
the United States Ford and cut off the only line open 
for the retreat of the Federal army. Hooker was 
stunned. His Third Corps was miles away in the 
woods. His cavalry was half-way to Richmond. His 
left wing was snarled up in that terrible Wilderness 
which a year later came so near to being the burial- 
place of Grant and his army. He had 37,000 men in 
his army that never fired a shot, and yet when Stonewall 
Jackson crushed his right wing on that fateful night of 
the 2d of May, he had no available reserve at hand. 
All that saved him was the confusion that prevailed in 
Jackson's charging column. It was the same thing 
that saved Lee a year later at Spottsylvania. The 
charging columns in each case had to halt and re-form 
their lines. This gave time for a rally. At Chan- 
cellorsville, night too intervened. 

At this juncture, at 9 p.m. (May 2d), Hooker issued 
a hurry call to Sedgwick, who was thirteen miles away, 
three miles below Fredericksburg. At this time Early 
held the heights back of Fredericksburg with six 



Army of the Potomac under Hooker 83 

brigades, or a total of nine thousand men. Hooker 
ordered Sedgwick to march three miles to Fredericks- 
burg, carry the heights, capture or drive away Early, 
march ten miles, and at daylight attack Lee's army in 
the rear and relieve the pressure of Lee's army on that 
of Hooker. As the despatch was not dated until 9 
o'clock in the evening, and the messenger bearing it had 
to pursue a circuitous route by the north bank of the 
river to reach Sedgwick, it was near midnight when he 
received his orders. It was an ablebodied proposition, 
but Sedgwick tackled it without a murmur. Soon 
after midnight he was under way groping through the 
darkness. It was a blind, tedious march through roads 
lined by woods and over two unbridged streams, but by 
a favoring fortune, we reached the rear of Fredericks- 
burg between three and four o'clock of that Sunday 
morning, and waited for the dawn. As we approached 
the city, we startled a few weary pickets, but they got 
away in the darkness. 

At daylight the Rebel batteries from Marye's and 
the neighboring heights opened on us, but they found 
difficulty in depressing their guns enough to do us any 
injury, and as we were on the outskirts of the city, they 
could not fire on us without damaging the city. About 
10 o'clock we moved into a railroad cut half-way 
between the edge of the city and the sunken road at the 
foot of the terrace of Marye's Heights. Here we were 
pretty well protected from the Rebel fire ; but a little in 
front of us was the sunken road at the foot of Marye's 
Heights which, in the previous December, was held by 
a mere handful of men against all the forces that General 
Burnside could bring into line against it; and on the 
other side of the road, Marye's Heights, surmounted by 
a fortified redoubt, bristling with cannon, and occupied 



84 Recollections of the Civil War 

by Confederate riflemen, rose defiantly, and seemed to 
be ready to welcome us to hospitable graves. After 
two abortive attempts (one by Gibbon on the right, 
and the other by Howe on the left of our line) to carry 
the heights, General Sedgwick organized five columns 
of assault: three under the direction of General Howe, 
and commanded, respectively, by General Neil, Colonel 
Grant, and Colonel Seaver, to capture Lee and Cemetery 
Hills, and starting from the banks of Hazel Creek ; and 
the other two under the direction of General Newton, 
and commanded, respectively, by Colonels Johns and 
Spear, to capture Marye's Heights, and starting from 
the southern edge of the city. Colonel Johns's column 
consisted of the Seventh Masachusetts and Thirty-sixth 
New York in the front line, supported by four regiments 
of Colonel Burnham's Light Division of the Sixth Corps ; 
while Colonel Spear's column consisted of the Sixty- 
first Pennsylvania and Forty-third New York, sup- 
ported by Colonel Shaler's brigade. x 

All five columns were successful in capturing the 
works they attacked, and were closely followed by the 
rest of the corps. They lost a thousand men, but they 
captured more than a thousand prisoners, and the force 
that carried the "sunken road" at the point of the 
bayonet, and then poured over Marye's Heights, was 
led by two regiments of our brigade. Colonel Johns 
was seriously wounded, and Colonel Spear was killed. 
The Thirty-seventh reached the summit of the hill just 
in time to see the surrender and to aid in some of the 
captures. But the larger part of Early's forces suc- 
ceeded in making their escape, and were in the fight 
against us at Salem Heights that afternoon. 

It was now 11.30 o'clock, and messengers were 

'O. R.,vol. xxv., pt. 1, p. 559. 



Army of the Potomac under Hooker 85 

immediately despatched by Early to General Lee 
announcing the capture of Fredericksburg heights by 
the Sixth Corps. Lee at once called a halt in his 
attacks upon Hooker and sent McLaws's division with 
one brigade of Anderson's division to assist Early in 
staying Sedgwick's advance. Meanwhile, Sedgwick 
had spent nearly two hours in assembling his corps and 
resuming his march. Brooks's (First) Division was in 
advance, ''formed in a column of brigade fronts with an 
extended line of skirmishers in the front and flank." 
"General Newton followed, marching by the flank 
along the road." Howe brought up the rear. 

Our progress was somewhat delayed by the enemy's 
skirmishers, who from the outset took advantage of 
every fence or tree or grove to annoy and harass our 
column, and for a time gave us considerable trouble. 
They afterwards withdrew, and we had no further 
trouble until we approached Salem Heights, so called, 
about three miles from our starting point. The 
country here is slightly undulating, and wooded in spots 
on the right of the plank road. It was bordered on the 
left a half-mile back from the road by quite a forest, 
which curved around to the road in our front, and hid 
from our view a sizable brick building known by the 
name of Salem Church. A half-mile this side of the 
church the Confederate lines of battle came into view 
at scattered intervals, and opened fire with their bat- 
teries. Brooks's division was deployed to the left of the 
road, and Newton partly to the left and partly to 
the right, and for a couple of hours a fierce conflict of the 
forces ensued, in which at first the Federal forces were 
successful, but after driving the Confederates a con- 
siderable distance, reinforcements enabled them to 
force us back nearly to our original line. 



86 Recollections of the Civil War 

The left wing of the Thirty- seventh, of which my 
company was a part, was detached from the right wing 
and sent to the assistance of the First (Brooks's) Divi- 
sion and arrived just in time to render substantial aid in 
checking the Confederate advance by delivering a well 
directed fire at close range into a part of the advancing 
line. Darkness finally intervened, and our regiment 
was reunited and rested with arms in hand on the front 
line of battle on the left of the plank road. The lines 
of battle were in our front so close to each other that 
there was very little room to deploy skirmish lines, and 
between the lines we could hear shrieks and cries from 
the wounded calling for help. Relief parties were 
finally organized to bring in such of the wounded as 
could be reached. It was a warm spring night, and the 
mournful notes of the whippoorwill were mingled with 
the cries of the suffering, and as I remember were 
audible the greater part of the night. We slept very 
little. 

With the dawn of the morning, we found the enemy 
had withdrawn their lines of battle into the edge of the 
woods about a half-mile to our front, and were moving 
around our left through the woods at about the same 
distance. This led to the re-arrangement of our lines. 
Brooks's First Division was placed in line nearly parallel 
to the plank road, but crossing it a mile southwest from 
Fredericksburg, it united with Howe's division, which 
then formed a right angle with Brooks's line and ex- 
tended that line until later it rested its left on a bend 
in the river. The Confederates extended their lines so 
that they occupied Fredericksburg heights early in the 
day, and cut off our line of retreat in that direction, 
and all day long we could see them moving their troops 
into position, and tightening their coils around us- 



Army of the Potomac under Hooker 87 

When we lost our connection with the heights of Fred- 
ericksburg, General Sedgwick took possession of the 
south shore of the river from Banks's Ford to the point 
where Howe rested the left flank of his division. New- 
ton's division formed a right angle with the right of 
Brooks's division, and crossed the plank road with his 
right resting on the river above Banks's Ford. x 

Thus we were virtually occupying three sides of a 
hollow square, with our right and left flanks resting on 
the Rappahannock River, which constituted what 
would have been the fourth side of the square if it had 
been complete. It was a long drawn out line some four 
miles in length, with the batteries of artillery advan- 
tageously posted at different points in the line where 
they could render the most service. We had no reserve 
and no second line of battle. Our brigade was sta- 
tioned on the west side of the angle formed by the union 
of Brooks's and Newton's divisions. All the afternoon 
we watched the Rebels moving through the woods on 
our front, and every now and then uttering the Rebel 
yell, at times apparently forming into lines of battle 
and preparing for attack. It was one of the most 
anxious six or seven hours that I ever spent. 

About three o'clock in the afternoon I was detailed to 
take charge of two companies from our regiment, F and 
H, on the skirmish lines. Our skirmish line was located 
with its headquarters in the rear of a small house which 
was surrounded by a garden and orchard, and part of 
the way by a low hedge behind which the men could lie 
down ; but I was kept moving up and down the line the 
greater part of the time, watching the movements of 
the enemy in the opposite woods, with the bullets 
whistling around me, and every now and then striking 

1 See War Map 135 (6). 



88 Recollections of the Civil War 

with a stinging noise or a thud on the earth by my side. 
Of course I was at times sheltered by the house and at 
times was under the cover of a bush or a tree. Every 
little while when the movements in the woods indicated 
a gathering of the troops in any locality, our artillery 
shelled them with great effect, but they were too far 
away to be effectively reached with rifle or musket balls, 
and I suppose it was to this that we owed the fact that 
our skirmish line escaped with very small loss. 

As the evening shades set in, we received orders to 
hold on to the skirmish line until word was sent to us, 
and then to withdraw as rapidly as possible to the river 
bank near the ford. Meanwhile, immediately after 
dark, the withdrawal of the troops was commenced as 
silently as possible, and by nine o'clock in the evening 
we got word to withdraw the skirmish lines, and under 
the leadership of a staff officer sent to guide us, to go 
as rapidly as possible to the vicinity of Banks's Ford, 
selected by General Sedgwick as a rendezvous from 
which the corps would cross the river. It is said that 
General Sedgwick on the night of the retreat expected 
to sacrifice our brigade to save the rest of the corps, 
but although we were the very last to leave the field, 
we applied the feet so nimbly that we got away 
from them. 1 One man dropped dead from exhaus- 

1 A manuscript note, in M. W. T.'s handwriting, in the margin of his 
copy of Bowen's History of the Thirty-seventh Regiment, at page 154, 
records his vivid recollection of the exciting experience : 

"The race when the order was given to withdraw this skirmish line 
exceeded in speed all the rapid movements I ever saw executed by a mili- 
tary force. We ran two miles on the keen jump, and sank down ex- 
hausted on reaching the regiment at the ford." 

An extract from the Daily Republican (Springfield) of Monday, May 
18, 1863, attests the interest at home in following the exploits of the 
soldiers in the field: 

"Capt. M.W.Tyler of the 37th Regiment, son of Prof. Tyler of 



Army of the Potomac under Hooker 89 

tion. The Rebels were firing shells and were supposed 
to be close behind us. We crossed the river on pontoon 
bridges at two o'clock the next morning. The entire 
loss of the regiment in killed, wounded, and captured 
was twenty-seven men, during these two days. 

The following letter from General Newton to Gov- 
ernor Andrew was forwarded after our return to camp : 

Headquarters Third Division, Sixth Corps, 
Office Adjutant-General, May 15th, 1863. 

His Excellency John A. Andrew, 

Governor of Massachusetts. 
Sir: 

Permit me to call your attention to the excellent con- 
duct of the Massachusetts regiments under my command 
during the late operations of the Sixth Corps. The Seventh 
Massachusetts stormed the Heights of Fredericksburg in 
columns without firing a shot and suffered severely. To 
Lieutenant-Colonel Harlow who commanded the regiment 
after the wounding of Colonel Johns, I mainly attribute 
this fortunate result. Colonel Harlow proved himself a 
hero, as this was a charge not exceeded in brilliancy and 
daring by any operation of the war. The Seventh ought 
to receive adequate praise. The Tenth and Thirty-seventh, 
though under fire in Fredericksburg on the morning of May 
3d, rendered their principal service in the afternoon and 
the following day at Salem Heights. Their coolness under 
fire and admirable discipline merit the warmest acknowledg- 
ments. The Tenth was under command of Major Parker 
during the most important period of their operations, 

Amherst College, did himself great credit in the recent battles of 
Fredericksburg and Chancellorsvllle. His company was particularly 
exposed during the re-crossing of the river, and all speak in the highest 
terms of the coolness of Capt. Tyler. Glad of it. Should n't expect 
any other report from a man who rejected an offer of a year of foreign 
travel, free of expense, that he might join the army." 



90 Recollections of the Civil War 

Colonel H. L. Eustis having command of the brigade. 
The conduct of all these regiments at such critical juncture 
has been an ample return for all the care bestowed upon 
their organization and discipline. 

I have the honor to be, 

Your obedient servant, 
John* Newton, Major-General. 

General Russell, in his report of the battle, says: 

During all of Monday the enemy made repeated attempts 
in our front to advance his line of skirmishers, but every 
attempt was foiled through the vigilance and stubborn 
resistance of the men of this command and through the 
sharp and precise firing of Lieutenant Butler's battery 
stationed directly in our rear. Our position here was 
strengthened by two regiments from the Third Division, 
the Thirty-sixth New York Volunteers, Lieutenant-Colonel 
Walsh commanding, and the Thirty-seventh Massachusetts 
Volunteers, Colonel Edwards, both of whom rendered mate- 
rial assistance in holding and defending the position. Late 
in the afternoon of Monday, orders were received to draw 
in our pickets and to cover the withdrawal to Banks's Ford 
following the Second Division of this Corps. This was 
effected just at dusk, under cover of a very hot and accurate 
shelling of the woods in our front from Hexamer's and 
Butler's batteries. This brigade reached Banks's Ford 
about nine o'clock in the evening of Monday in good order, 
and crossed the river in safety at two o'clock in the morning 
of Tuesday, May 5th. 1 

After crossing we moved back one half mile from 
the ford and halted for the night, and slept the sleep of 
exhaustion due to our going without sleep the previous 
night and our long waiting and watching on the skirmish 

1 0. R., xxv., pt. 1, p. 592. 



Army of the Potomac under Hooker 91 

lines during the afternoon. About 9 A.M. they roused 
us from our slumbers and told us that we must move 
farther back beyond reach of the Confederate guns. 
So we marched to the rear two miles, and bivouacked in 
a piece of woods. About 4 p.m. it began to rain, and the 
rain continued on the 6th and 7th, with signs of clearing 
on the 8th. 

Meanwhile, General Hooker had crossed with the 
rest of the Army of the Potomac at United States Ford 
on the night of May 5th, and orders were received on 
the evening of the 7th for the army to return to their 
old camps at the north side of the Rappahannock, and 
accordingly, on the morning of the 8th, we marched 
nine miles back to our old camp in mud and rain. My 
diary says, mud almost as bad as that in the "mud 
march." In a letter dated the 9th, written to my 
parents, I say: 

Here we are back again in our old camp and quarters 
after almost a fortnight's absence. We have made a recon- 
noissance in force, taken the heights, advanced five miles 
into the enemy's country, fought a battle, and accomplished 
nothing except that we have given one more crushing blow 
to the Army of the Potomac, and promoted the feeling that 
we cannot drive the enemy beyond the lines of the Rappa- 
hannock River. As yet we know nothing of what the state 
of things is in General Hooker's army. How badly he was 
whipped and what was the reason of his failure are matters 
of pure conjecture with us. 

I received some credit from the field officers of the 
regiment for the way in which I handled the two com- 
panies on the picket line during the retreat. Although 
the movement was very rapid, I succeeded in keeping 
the men together, which, owing to the darkness of the 



92 Recollections of the Civil War 

night, it was rather difficult to do. Some 200 knap- 
sacks were thrown away by the regiment on the retreat, 
while of these Company F lost only five. We were the 
last to leave the field, and were the nearest of any of our 
troops to the enemy's line. ' 

After our return to camp we resumed the same rou- 
tine of duties and occupations as before our movement 
across the river. Daily drills, varied with an occasional 
detail for picket duty, an occasional review, and fre- 
quent thorough inspections by the regimental, brigade, 
and division inspectors, kept us very busy. The army 
very soon recovered its confidence and its courage. 
The feeling among the officers and the men was that 
General Hooker ought to have succeeded; that the 
campaign was well planned and admirably executed up 
to the time that General Hooker withdrew the army 
into the woods about Chancellorsville. After that he 
failed utterly both in handling and in fighting his 
troops, and at the critical moment was himself injured 
and picked up for dead, leaving the army practically 
without a commander during the battle. We felt that 
the organization of the army as a whole was more 
complete, that the rank and file were in better fighting 
mood and condition, than they had ever been before, 
and that if they could only be well commanded the 
army would give a good account of itself. 

During the month of May we moved our camp from 

1 Bowen, at page 153, says: "The safety of the Thirty-seventh evoked 
the most lively satisfaction at corps headquarters, since from its pecu- 
liarly exposed position it had been feared that it must be cut off, but the 
most remarkable fact was that the skirmish line had been able to do so 
valiant work in delaying the advance of the enemy and still bring away 
every man. The admirable steadiness and efficiency of Company F had 
been closely watched and warmly praised by their comrades in the 
regimental line." 



Army of the Potomac under Hooker 93 

the position we had occupied during the previous March 
and April to a grove five miles nearer Aquia Creek, 
where we had a good water supply and plenty of wood 
for fires and for making an attractive camp. This con- 
dition of preparation and camp routine continued until 
the 4th of June, when we began to receive orders looking 
toward a movement of the army. On the 6th we broke 
camp and marched down the Rappahannock to the 
familiar grounds selected by General Franklin for laying 
pontoon bridges in the previous December, pitched our 
tents, and awaited further orders. A pontoon bridge 
had been laid across the river, and Howe's division 
of our corps was already on the other side. 

Sunday, the 7th, the weather was hot, but relieved 
by showers in the afternoon. Our camp was on a plan- 
tation or farm owned by a Dr. Morson, whose house was 
situated on the river bank with the cabins of his negroes 
located around it. The doctor had 1500 acres of land, 
and the previous summer had had fifty-eight negroes, he 
told me, but then had only ten left, and they said they 
would stay only as long as the army stayed. They 
were staying at Dr. M.'s urgent solicitation, but feared 
that if the army should leave, they might be sold south. 
I talked with the negroes, and found their ideas of 
slavery rather hard. They were carrying on a prof- 
itable trade with the soldiers, selling hoe-cakes at 
twenty-five cents apiece. These cakes consisted of a 
mixture of cornmeal and water, with a little salt, baked 
on the hot hearthstones, and were liked by the soldiers 
because they varied the usual hard- tack diet. We could 
also sometimes induce the darkies to sell us a little milk 
at twenty-five cents a quart. 

On the 10th of June our brigade crossed the river and 
went into line behind the rifle-pits in front of the Bar- 



94 Recollections of the Civil War 

nard house where we stayed until the 13th doing guard 
and picket duty. Occasionally the monotony of the 
scene would be varied by a few shells from the batteries 
occupied by the Rebels on the heights, but they never 
succeeded in doing us any injury by their shell-firing 
while we were there. x 

On the night of June 13th we recrossed the Rappa- 
hannock and the whole army was put in march toward 
the north. It was very hot, and all extra accumula- 
tions in the shape of underclothing and overcoats and 
extra suits were thrown away, until the whole country 
seemed to be covered with the discarded garments of 
the army. 

We reached Stafford Court-House on that day at 
four o'clock in the afternoon, and then halted until ten 
o'clock at night, when we started again and marched all 
night, but made slow progress because there were not 
roads enough in which the troops could be moved, and 

1 In a letter to his parents, dated June 12, 1863, M. W. T. speaks of 
the Barnard house as a mass of ruins with " many splendid trees around 
it, and under one of these I am sitting and writing to-day." "I rather 
enjoy writing letters when I have the accommodations, but out here it 
is a task. To begin back where I last left off. Wednesday morning we 
were relieved from picket duty and returned to support a battery of 
siege guns that lay on the plain back of our picket ground. There I lay 
all day. About four p.m. I took it into my head to go in swimming, and 
had a very nice time. I swam the Rappahannock — some thirty rods 
wide. . . . That night our division moved across the river, and we 
started about nine o'clock and got into position on this side in some rifle- 
pits in front of the famous Barnard house (General Franklin's old head- 
quarters) , and where General Bayard was killed. About twelve we were 
allowed to lie down on the ground with our arms in our hands, but could 
not undo our blankets. I slept right on the ground for the first time in 
my life. We were all aroused the next morning a little before day began 
to dawn, a quarter of three, to stand at arms and be ready for the enemy 
in case of an attack. We did the same last night. So you see we are 
gradually turning night into day." 



Army of the Potomac under Hooker 95 

those that we had were largely occupied by the trains 
and the artillery. 

On June 15th we marched sixteen miles to Dumfries, 
and then rested during the evening until midnight, 
when we started again and marched eighteen miles on 
the 1 6th, reaching the Occoquan at twelve o'clock, and 
rested there until three in the afternoon, when we again 
took up our line of march and reached Fairfax Station 
at six in the evening, having made twenty miles during 
the day. Rumor told us at this time that Lee was 
already in Maryland, and marching to the north. 

On June 17th we rested, and resumed our march on 
the 1 8th, starting at three-thirty in the morning, but 
after proceeding a short distance beyond Fairfax Court- 
House, we halted, and pitched our tents and remained 
until the 24th of June, when we once more received 
marching orders, and moved to within about five miles 
of Centreville, and went into camp in a very picturesque 
country, with the mountains in full view to the west and 
the plains of Manassas, covered with the verdure of 
spring, stretching in long distances before us to the 
south and east. We remained there until the 26th of 
June, when we moved by Chantilly to Dranesville, 
making a march of eighteen miles. 

On June 27th we started at five in the morning, and 
marched three miles to Edwards Ferry, where we 
crossed the Potomac, proceeded two miles farther to 
the village of Poolsville, and on June 28th we started 
at four A.M. and marched through Barnesville to the 
vicinity of Newmarket, a distance of eighteen miles. 
While here we received the announcement that General 
Hooker was relieved from the command of the army, 
and that General Meade had been appointed his 
successor. 



96 Recollections of the Civil War 

The reason for our march north, which I have here 
described, was the discovery by General Hooker that 
Lee was preparing to invade the North. By his vic- 
tories at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville he was 
encouraged to believe that the Army of Northern Vir- 
ginia was more than a match for the Army of the 
Potomac on any field. His army was stronger by the 
addition of Longstreet's corps 1 than it was at Chancel- 
lorsville ; while the Army of the Potomac was weakened 
by the expiration of the terms of service of its two years' 
men, numbering nearly thirty thousand. The North 
had not yet found a competent commander for the 
Army of the Potomac; while the South believed that 
they had an invincible army, led by a genius of war. In 
Richmond nothing less than the subjugation of the 
North would satisfy the people. The latter part of 
May, General Lee began to move his forces towards the 
upper Rappahannock, and on the 4th of June, when we 
crossed the river once more, Ewell and Stuart were in 
the neighborhood of Culpeper. On the 13th they 
appeared at Winchester, and on the 15th captured a 
large part of Milroy's army, and the Rebel cavalry 
pushed on and occupied Chambersburg. 2 On the 27th 
Ewell encamped within four miles of Harrisburg, 3 the 
capital of Pennsylvania. 

The North once more was panic-stricken. On the 
15th President Lincoln issued a proclamation 4 calling 
upon three Eastern border States and Ohio for 100,000 
militia to serve for six months unless sooner discharged, 
and other States, noticeably New York, volunteered 

1 Swinton, pp. 309-10. 

a Swinton, pp. 314, 317, 319; Rhodes, iv., p. 273. 

3 Rhodes, iv., p. 273. 

« O. R., xxvii., pt. 3, p. 136. 



Army of the Potomac under Hooker 97 

aid and the celebrated Seventh Regiment again took 
the field, and went to the relief of the sister Stat ^f 
Pennsylvania. The erisis of the war was at hand Ld 
the battle was to be fought on Northern soil 



CHAPTER VI 
GETTYSBURG 
JULY 1-3, 1863 

THE situation of the two armies when General 
Meade succeeded to the command of the Army of 
the Potomac was as follows: 

General Hooker had substantially succeeded in keep- 
ing the Confederate army west of the Blue Ridge, and 
General Lee had, therefore, been obliged to cross the 
Potomac River above Harper's Ferry and was moving 
his army through the Cumberland Valley 1 into the 
heart of Pennsylvania. As stated above, Ewell and his 
corps were in the neighborhood of Harrisburg at Car- 
lisle and York. a Lee and Longstreet were at Chambers- 
burg, and Hill and his corps were at Fayetteville, 3 while 
Stuart and his cavalry corps, who had just started upon 
one of their raids around the Army of the Potomac, 
were at Hood's Mill 4 on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad 
within a short distance of Baltimore. 

The Union army was on the east side of the South 
Mountain and the Catoctin Range in the vicinity of 
Frederick, Maryland. On the night of the 28th of 
June, Lee sent word to his different commands to con- 
centrate at Gettysburg. 3 This recall of Ewell's army 

1 O. R., xxvii., pt. 1, p. 1 14. » O. R., xxvii., pt. 2, p. 298. 

J Id., p. 606. * Id., pp. 694-5. 

s Id., p. 307. See Rhodes, iv., 282; Swinton's Army of the Potomac, 
pp. 326, 327. 

98 



Gettysburg 99 

from its invasion of the southern part of Pennsylvania 
was due to the fact that Lee was surprised to find the 
Army of the Potomac so closely in his rear, and that 
he began to fear they might intercept his line of com- 
munications, which he was obliged to keep open to in- 
sure a continued supply of ammunition for his army. x 
He moved across the mountain in order to threaten 
Baltimore and prevent Meade from attacking his rear. 
The Union army was anxious to protect the cities of 
Washington, Baltimore, and Philadelphia, and at this 
time Meade had in mind to make his line of defence at 
Pipe Creek, an affluent of the Monocacy River, about 
twenty miles southeast of Gettysburg. With this in 
view, on the 29th he moved the First and Eleventh 
Corps to Emmitsburg, and the Third and Twelfth to 
Middleburg, and the Fifth Corps to Taneytown, the 
Second to Union Town, 2 and the Sixth to New Windsor, 
with cavalry brigades covering his right and left flanks. 3 
In the Southern army, Heth's division of Hill's corps 
was moved to Cashtown, 4 within eight miles of Gettys- 
burg. Longstreet joined the rest of Hill's corps at 
Fayetteville. s At York, Early received the order to 
return to Gettysburg on the afternoon of the 29th, and 
prepared to start the next morning. 6 Rodes's and 
Johnson's divisions started from Carlisle and moved 
toward Gettysburg, but they were loaded down with 
plunder and had to move slowly. 7 

1 Rhodes, iv., p. 282. 2 Or Union. 

3 See itinerary of the Army of the Potomac, compiled by Mr. Joseph 
W. Kirkley, O. R., xxvii., pt. I, p. 144. Also War Map 27 (1). 

* O. R., xxvii., pt. 2, p. 607. See War Map 43 (7). 

s See Longstreet's report, O. R., xxvii., pt. 2, p. 358. 

6 0. R., xxvii., pt. 2, p. 467, bottom, General Early's report of the 
battle of Gettysburg. 

1 The 30th. See report of Major-General R. E. Rodes, O. R., xxvii., 
pt. 2, p. 551, bot., and too of p. 552. 



ioo Recollections of the Civil War 

On June 30th the Union army extended from the 
Emmitsburg Road, with the First Corps on its left at 
Marsh Creek and the Sixth Corps on its right at Man- 
chester, x while of the Confederate army, Ewell's corps 
had reached Heidlersburg, 2 nine miles north of Gettys- 
burg. Longstreet was still at Fayetteville, 3 while the 
main part of Hill's corps was at Cashtown, 4 eight miles 
west of Gettysburg. In fact, at the close of the 30th of 
June, two thirds of Lee's army was within eight miles 
of Gettysburg, while only two sevenths of Meade's 
army was within twelve miles of the same place; but 
there was this difference; Lee's whole army was under 
orders to assemble there, and was actually on its way to 
that destination, while one seventh of Meade's army, 
viz., the First Corps, was moving in that direction, 
while the other corps were waiting for orders. Stuart's 
cavalry had met with obstacles at Hanover and at 
Carlisle on this day, but avoided them by making wide 
detours which exhausted the strength of his men and 
horses. s 

By evening Meade was aware that the Confederate 
forces were gathering at Gettysburg. Reynolds, at 
Marsh Creek with the First Corps, was only separated 
by six miles from Hill at Cashtown. Meade and Rey- 
nolds were both from the State of Pennsylvania, and 
were both fired with an ardent desire to rid their State 
of the insolent invasion of the Southern army at the 
earliest practicable moment. Meade declined to give 
Reynolds any orders on the night of the 30th, but the 
next morning he told him to advance and hold Gettys- 

« O. R., xxvii., pt. 1, pp. 114, 144. 

2 O. R., xxvii., pt. 2, p. 444, top, Ewell's report. 

3 See Longstreet's report, id., p. 358. 
* Id., p. 607. See War Map 43 (7). 

s See Stuart's report, O. R., xxvii., pt. 2, pp. 695-6. 



Gettysburg 101 

burg, and directed the Eleventh Corps to support him, 
and requested the Third Corps to do the same. r 

Buford, with two cavalry brigades, was in the en- 
virons of Gettysburg that night. 2 On the morning of 
July 1st, a momentous day, Buford, with his cavalry 
brigades, was in possession of Seminary Ridge, to the 
west of Gettysburg, and of the country in front of it to 
Willoughby Run. Hill and his corps were approaching 
from the west, and Ewell and his corps were approach- 
ing from the north. 3 Reynolds and the First Corps of 
the Union army were coming to his assistance from the 
south, and Howard with the Eleventh Corps from a 
still farther starting point, 4 Reynolds being distant 
three hours, and Howard about six. Back a half-mile 
from Seminary Ridge, and partially parallel to it, was 
Cemetery Ridge, which extended three miles towards 
the south, and there terminated in two famous hills — 
Round Top and Little Round Top, — and towards the 
north, the same ridge curved first to the northeast and 
then to the east and southeast, and terminated in 
another rugged eminence known to history by the name 
of Culp's Hill. This was the famous battlefield of 
Gettysburg. 5 The village of Gettysburg was a short 
distance north of the point where the ridge curved to 
the northeast. It was a peaceful hamlet devoted to 
education and the study of theology, and gave its name 
to the greatest battle ever fought upon the North 
American continent. 

Buford and his cavalry used every device known to 
cavalry tactics to delay the progress of the enemy until 
the arrival of the Union infantry. Meanwhile, Rey- 

1 O. R., xxvii., pt. I, p. 114. 2 See Buford's report, id., p. 923, top. 
3 See reports of General Lee, O. R., xxvii., pt. 2, pp. 298 and 307. 
* See report of General Meade, O. R., xxvii., pt. 1, p. 1 14. 
'See War Maps 40 (2), 43 (1), 95 (1), 116 (2). 



102 Recollections of the Civil War 

nolds arrived and recognized the advantages of the 
Cemetery Ridge for a defensive line of battle, and of- 
fered his life as a sacrifice to save it for the Union army. 
The First and Eleventh Corps numbered ten thousand 
killed, wounded, and captured, in the same cause, but at 
the end of the day Lee's army was occupying Seminary 
Ridge, while three and a half corps of the Army of the 
Potomac were gathered on Cemetery Ridge, and Meade 
had concluded to bring his other corps to Gettysburg 
and accept the gauge of battle with Lee's invading and 
triumphant army there. ■ It was a momentous decision, 
and made Gettysburg the American Waterloo. 

The Second Corps was already within ten miles of 
the battlefield, and Meade sent word to the Fifth, which 
was twenty-three miles distant, and to the Sixth, 
thirty-six miles distant at Manchester, 2 to hurry for- 
ward and join the rest of the army. 3 

It was a hot summer night, 4 and we had retired by 
nine o'clock, and suddenly, a little after ten o'clock, we 
were aroused by the order to pack, get into line, and 
move, — we in the ranks knew not whither or why. In 
their hurry they led us ten miles out of our way, and we 
had to retrace our steps, but all night long, with never a 
halt longer than ten minutes, we trudged away. Morn- 
ing came, and they allowed us only thirty minutes to 
get our breakfast. As we went on, rumors of a great 
battle with dubious result reached our ears, but the 
farmers along the route brought us words of cheer, and 
fed us with cherries and milk and cooked food of great 
variety. Still we kept moving. It was a very hot day, 

1 See report of General Meade, 0. R., xxvii., pt. I, p. 115. 

2 About twenty-two miles air-line distance, besides which they went 
ten miles out of their way. 

3 See Itinerary by Kirkley, 0. R., xxvii., pt. I , p. 144. 

* 1 st of July. 



Gettysburg 103 

and as we pressed on the heat told upon the marching 
men. Many fell out, and when we got within four 
miles of our destination, orders were issued to halt and 
get our forces together. It was nearly two hours 
before we started again, but about two o'clock in the 
afternoon we arrived on the banks of Rock Creek, a 
short distance back of Little Round Top. At the point 
where the Thirty-seventh halted, the stream had been 
dammed, and there was a small mill. Within a very 
few minutes the soldiers had stripped off their clothing 
and hundreds of them were in the pond struggling for a 
bath. The water was full of blood-suckers ; I never saw 
so many on any other occasion of my life. One or more 
was ornamenting every soldier as he emerged from the 
water. 

Ours was the last corps of the Army of the Potomac 
to arrive on the field of battle. The Fifth Corps started 
at 7 p.m., and by a night march escaped the hot sun and 
reached its destination a little after 5 o'clock of the 
morning of the 2d. The day was one of preparation 
on both sides until 4 o'clock in the afternoon. Our line 
was shaped like a fishhook, with our right at the point 
of the hook. The Twelfth Corps was stationed on that 
flank called Culp's Hill ; next, in the order named, were 
the Eleventh, First, Second, and Third Corps, with the 
Fifth and Sixth in reserve. 1 

In an endeavor to secure possession or control of the 

1 See report of General Meade, O. R., xxvii., pt. I, p. 115, bottom, and 
top of 116, which shows the First Corps on the right of the Eleventh in- 
stead of on the left. War Map 43 (1) shows the position of the several 
corps on the 2d of July, with the Sixth in reserve on the right on Ceme- 
tery Hill. On the arrival of the Sixth Corps, the Fifth was ordered by 
General Meade "to move over to our extreme left, and the Sixth to oc- 
cupy its place as a reserve for the right." [Meade's report (supra), 
p. 116.] 



104 Recollections of the Civil War 

Emmitsburg Road, as well as of the Round Tops and 
the rocky field in their front called the Devil's Garden, 
General Sickles of the Third Corps had bent the Union 
line of battle to the front, and at the Peach Orchard it 
nearly made a right angle, and was then prolonged to 
the Devil's Den on its left flank. The two Round Tops 
were at this time only occupied for signal stations. On 
the Confederate side Ewell was opposite to our right 
flank, Hill to our centre, and Longstreet to our left. 1 
Their line was five miles long, while ours was only 
four. 2 

After examination and consideration, General Lee 
decided to attack the right and left flanks, and at 4 
o'clock in the afternoon, General Longstreet, under 
instructions from General Lee, assaulted General 
Sickles's exposed angle at the Peach Orchard, at the 
same time sending a column around our extreme left 
to secure possession of the two Round Tops. The 
attack of the Peach Orchard was overwhelming, and 
for two succeeding hours a terrific combat was waged 
between the contending forces for the supreme control 
of that part of the field. Longstreet succeeded in 
forcing our line back to the foot of Little Round Top 
and at one time his men had possession of Round Top — 
and his column pressing forward to occupy Little 
Round Top, met the Fifth Corps, whom General Warren 
had diverted from other assigned directions, 3 on the 
summit of the hill, and in a face-to-face, hand-to-hand 
grapple, with bayonets, musket butts, and deadly short- 
range bullets, the Union men strewed the ground with 
Confederate gray, and drove the shattered remnant of 

1 0. R., xxvii., pt. 2, p. 308. 

2 Position is shown on War Map 43 (1). 

J See latter part of note, p. 103 supra. 



Gettysburg 105 

the force down the precipitous sides of the hills into the 
plain. 

The Sixth Corps was summoned to assist in driving 
back Longstreet's assaulting columns, and went into 
position at the foot of Little Round Top about five 
o'clock on that afternoon. While there, waiting our 
turn to join the deadly fray, my recollection is that our 
brigade was suddenly called upon to join the rescue 
forces on Little Round Top, and that we started on the 
double-quick to ascend the hill, but had not gone very 
far when we were halted, and after a brief delay returned 
to our former place with the corps. * 

The different histories of this event speak of "two 
brigades of the Sixth Corps " participating in this rescue. 
For instance, General Walker, in his History of the 
Second Army Corps, at page 281, says, "But from 
Little Round Top, now firmly held by the good troops 
which first won it, reinforced by the Pennsylvania 
Reserves and two brigades of the Sixth Corps, coming 
in from their continuous march of thirty hours, Long- 
street recoils." And later, on page 285, he says: "The 
brigades of Wheaton and Nevin, of the Sixth Corps, 
arriving from their long march, at the same time come 
into view alongside of Little Round Top, while Craw- 
ford's Pennsylvanians advance from the extreme left 
of our line. This suffices for Longstreet." 

On General Reynolds's death, General Newton, our 
division commander, was appointed to the command of 
the First Corps. 2 General Wheaton succeeded him in 
the command of our (the Third) division, and Colonel 
Nevin succeeded General Wheaton in command of his 
(the Third) brigade. Wheaton's and Nevin's brigade 

1 See Meade's report {supra), p. 116. 

3 See O. R., xxvii., pt. i, p. 155, footnote (§). 



106 Recollections of the Civil War 

was one and the same brigade, and the brigade called 
Wheaton's, which in these accounts was associated with 
Nevin's, was that of General Eustis (the Second), of 
which the Thirty-seventh was a member. 1 This cor- 
responds exactly with the account given by Bo wen in 
his History of the Thirty-seventh Regiment. At page 
183 he says in speaking of the culmination of Long- 
street's attack and fight: "It was at this time that the 
Sixth Corps — never more welcome — began to reach the 
scene. Nevin's brigade (lately Wheaton's), which had 
led the corps in that memorable march, swept over the 
hill, pushed the Confederates back, and held the ground. 
Close in their wake Eustis's brigade was in line of battle 
ready to test its mettle, but it was not needed." 

In Doubleday's Chancellor sville and Gettysburg, 2 
page 173, in writing of the advance of Ayres's division 
of regulars at the "Wheatfield," it is recorded: "His 
[Ayres's] return was aided by the artillery on Little 
Round Top, and by the advance of part of the Sixth 
Corps"; and on page 174, "As Crawford charged, two 
brigades of Sedgwick's division [corps?], those of Nevin 
and Wheaton [Eustis?], formed on the right and below 
Little Round Top. The sight of the firm front pre- 
sented by these fresh troops discouraged Longstreet, 
who went forward to reconnoitre, and he gave up all 
attempts at making any farther advance." 

It is certain that when Longstreet's attack culminated, 

1 The corps organization is given in O. R., xxvii., pt. I, p. 163: 
Third Division: Maj.-Gen. John Newton. Brig. -Gen. Frank Wheaton. 
First Brigade: Brig.-Gen. Alexander Shaler. 

Second Brigade: Col. Henry L. Eustis (7th, 10th, and 37th Mass. and 
2d;R. I.). 

Third Brigade: Brig.-Gen. Frank Wheaton. Col. David J. Nevin. 
'Campaigns of Civil War (series), Charles Scribner's Sons, 1882. 



Gettysburg 107 

three of his brigades, namely, those of Wofford, Ker- 
shaw, 1 and Anderson, had reached the rear of the 
Wheatfield, and were close to the base of Little Round 
Top. The Sixth Corps was massed there, and Whea- 
ton's division was in the front of that corps line. Upon 
Batchelder's maps of Gettysburg (second day), Nevin's 
brigade is located slightly north and west of the ridge 
line of Little Round Top, while the other two brigades, 
to wit, Eustis's and Shaler's, of that division are located 
back of the ridge line and at some distance in a south- 
easterly direction from Nevin's brigade. I think the 
brigades were together and in the position assigned on 
the map to Nevin's brigade. I distinctly remember 
that our view to the front was not obstructed by trees 
as it would have been had we been located where 
Batchelder's map puts us. This also accords with the 
position assigned to us in the accounts from which I 
have above quoted. We did not fire a gun, but we 
were ready to go in to the limit of our strength, if our 
commanders had but given the word. When the firing 
ceased and Longstreet's attack was stayed, we lay down 
with muskets and swords in hand, upon a thick mat of 
moss of nature's bountiful providing, which furnished 
us a bed of oriental or even celestial luxury, and we slept 
soundly until dawn of the 3d of July. 

Meanwhile Ewell's attack on the right of our line at 
Culp's Hill had so far succeeded as to capture a part of 
our works, which they held during the night. General 
Shaler's brigade of our division and corps was ordered 
during the night to report to General Slocum of the 
Twelfth Corps, and to co-operate in an attempt to dis- 
lodge the enemy. Later, during the morning of the 
3d, Eustis's brigade was ordered to aid in the movement, 

1 See Kershaw's Report of the Battle, O. R., xxvii., pt. 2, p. 369. 



108 Recollections of the Civil War 

and made the march to the right of our line, but arrived 
just in time to find that Culp's Hill had been recaptured 
and that their services were not needed. 

July 3d was a day of excessive heat, and as the 
Sixth Corps was in reserve, it was their lot to detach 
brigades or regiments, as they were needed, to go to any 
part of the line that required strengthening or assis- 
tance, and stay until the emergency was past. In this 
way the corps was much scattered and divided during 
the day, and it did a great deal of hard work in answer 
to hurry calls which sent them on long errands at the 
double-quick. While the regiments were actually 
engaged or in line of battle, the regimental officers dis- 
mounted and sent their horses to a place of safety in the 
rear. As they were unaccustomed to foot service, these 
expeditions to different parts of the field on foot and at 
double-quick, in such a heat, bore particularly hard on 
them. The result was that an unusually large number 
of regimental officers were prostrated by the heat on 
that day, Colonel Edwards and Lieutenant-Colonel 
Montague of the Thirty-seventh among the number. 
As stated before, Eustis's brigade was sent to the right 
of the line early in the day. They returned to their 
position with the corps a little after one o'clock. 

General Lee, finding that his two flank attacks, from 
which he had anticipated large and decisive results, had 
both proved failures, now decided to mass his artillery 
and to launch a selected column of fifteen thousand men 
into the very heart of the Union army, and by one 
supreme effort to conquer the North. By noon he had 
one hundred and forty-five guns in position ready to pour 
death and destruction into our lines, and for two hours 
the very earth shrieked and groaned with the cries of 
the wounded and the agonies of the dying. We were 



Gettysburg 109 

returning from the right of the line as this feu d'enfer 
struck us, and in less time than I can tell it we had 
twenty- three men killed and wounded by their shells. 
We hurried on to join our corps, but had hardly reached 
them when our brigade was ordered to return to Gen- 
eral Meade's headquarters, which we also did at the 
double-quick, and we had the good fortune to reach 
there just as Pickett's charge culminated. 

We stood in line of battle ready to move forward to 
the attack and saw thousands of Pickett's men throw 
down their arms and surrender to the Union forces. It 
was an inspiring scene. It was one of the few triumphs 
the Army of the Potomac was permitted to enjoy. 
They could only inscribe Gettysburg and Appomattox 
on their banners, while the Army of Northern Virginia 
boasted of triumphs from Bull Run to Petersburg. But 
it was the dogged pertinacity of the North that would 
not give way to discouragement, which out of disaster 
wrought the final crown of success, and achieved a 
victory that saved the life of the nation. We slept in 
peace that night. The next day was given to quiet 
and repose. It was the Fourth of July, but the si- 
lence of death reigned supreme on the battlefield. 
North and South were burying their dead, and had no 
thought of celebrating the anniversary of the Nation's 
birth. 

It was Saturday morning and the Thirty-seventh was 
detailed for picket duty. The Confederates were rest- 
ing under the cover of the trees. Aside from the occa- 
sional glimmer of their muskets through the foliage, 
there was nothing to indicate their presence. In the 
afternoon we moved back into line with the rest of the 
army and built rifle-pits for our protection against a 
surprise. We were located on a ledge of rocks that 



no Recollections of the Civil War 

made a hollow place where water accumulated and 
formed something of a pond. A heavy shower occurred 
in the middle of the night, and we found ourselves 
afloat, and were compelled to spend the balance of the 
night standing in the water. The losses of the Thirty- 
seventh in the battle of Gettysburg were two enlisted 
men killed, and twenty-six wounded and nineteen cap- 
tured or missing. 

When we awoke on Sunday morning, July 5th, we 
were startled by the intelligence that the Confederate 
army had gone from our front. It did not take long for 
us to get under way, but the weather was warm and our 
march very slow. 

General Lee went directly west from Gettysburg, and 
General Meade concluded to go south and avoid a col- 
lision with Lee in the mountains. His route lay through 
Emmitsburg, and from there we climbed over the 
Catoctin Mountains and passed through Middletown 
and over the South Mountain Pass back of Middletown 
into the Valley of the Potomac. 1 It was a wild and 
picturesque country that we were traversing. The 
climb up the mountains back of Middletown was very 
hard. We encountered a heavy rain on the mountain- 
top, which cleared the atmosphere and gave us a 
beautiful view of the valley when we started -the next 
morning. Lee went directly to Williamsport, where he 
had left a pontoon bridge to be used upon his return into 
Virginia, but when he got there he found that the 
pontoons had been destroyed by General French of 
the Union army, 2 and he was obliged to wait for several 
days before he was able to cross into Virginia. General 
Meade halted his army opposite that of Lee at Williams- 

1 See War Map 116 (2). 

2 O. R., xxvii., pt. 1, p. 489, top. 



Gettysburg 1 1 1 

port and for two or three days it looked very much as if 
a general engagement would ensue. 

At Funkstown my regiment skirmished with the 
Rebel army all of one day, and in the course of our pur- 
suit of the Confederates I personally had a very narrow 
escape. I was directed by Colonel Edwards to explore 
a hill behind which the Rebels had just disappeared, 
and we were anxious to know whether the hill was 
occupied by them or had been vacated. In my explor- 
ations I had a rifle ball pass through my hat, and came 
very near being shot at short range with two other 
members of my company who were with me on the 
picket line at the time. 

General Lee crossed the Potomac on the 14th of July, 
and we immediately followed the movement of his col- 
umn, going down the east side of the Potomac River, 
while he went down the west side into the Shenandoah 
Valley. 

On July 1 6th we crossed the Potomac at Berlin, and 
from there proceeded into Virginia on the east side of 
the Blue Mountain range. We made eleven miles in 
our first day's march into Virginia, July 19th, and on 
the 20th we went as far as Union, where we halted for 
the night. From Union we moved through Upperville 
on the 22d of July, and from there went to Rector- 
town and Salem. The whole country in this part of 
Virginia at this season of the year was most bountifully 
supplied with blackberries, sufficient to feed the 
Army of the Potomac. I never saw blackberries in such 
quantity and of such fine quality. We feasted upon 
them for days. We remained in this neighborhood 
until the end of the month. 



CHAPTER VII 

THE THIRTY-SEVENTH HELPS TO ENFORCE 
THE DRAFT IN NEW YORK CITY 

JULY 30 TO OCTOBER 1 4, 1 863 

JUST at this juncture a peculiar condition of affairs 
existed in the metropolitan city of New York. 
Throughout the State, and more especially in the city 
of New York, there was a lawless element which had a 
very decided inclination at this time to sympathize with 
the Rebel armies in the field. New York was the most 
populous and wealthy State in the Union. It had a 
large foreign population, and that population, par- 
ticularly the Irish part of it, was hostile to the negroes, 
and opposed to the war because they thought it was an 
abolition movement. Horatio Seymour was the Gov- 
ernor, and the constitutional commander-in-chief of its 
military forces. He was a popular orator, a plausible 
demagogue, a man of much force and ability, and a 
leading Democratic politician, having great influence 
both in the State and in the national councils of his 
party. 

In the early part of 1863, the Federal government had 
decided to make an effort to add to the strength of its 
armies by a compulsory draft. Steps were being taken 
to enforce such a draft throughout the United States 
at the very time that the battle of Gettysburg was 

112 



Enforcing the Draft in New York 1 13 

being fought. Governor Seymour and the State of New- 
York resisted the draft and threw obstacles in the way 
of its enforcement. 

It was of great importance to the Northern armies 
and to the national government that the draft should 
be a success. Volunteering had ceased, and we had 
resorted to bounties to fill our ranks. Owing to the 
terrible havoc and distress of the war, appeals to pa- 
triotism no longer availed. Once let the army in the field 
get the idea that they could not depend upon further 
re-enforcement, and they would become discouraged, 
and the war would come to a speedy end. This was 
the crisis we were facing. President Lincoln had or- 
dered that the draft be enforced in the City of New York 
on the 13th of July, 1863. 

At the appointed hour, seven o'clock, the provost 
marshal and his deputies were on hand with the appli- 
ances of their office to begin the work. There was no 
secrecy about it. Any citizen could attend and watch 
the proceedings and see that the business was honestly 
conducted. The lists were transferred to slips of paper, 
put into a large wheel, and after the wheel had been 
sufficiently revolved to thoroughly stir and mix the 
slips, a blindfolded man drew from the wheel the names 
of those whom the law said must serve as soldiers, or 
furnish a substitute, unless they could prove themselves 
disqualified for service by age or other incapacity. 
The poor man immediately said he was discriminated 
against because he could not pay for a substitute, and 
suddenly swarms of angry women and infuriated men 
began to gather in the streets and with bricks, paving 
stones, and clubs to assault the offices of the provost 
marshal. Windows were smashed, the furniture was 
destroyed, the officers fled for their lives, the buildings 



ii4 Recollections of the Civil War 

were fired, and for four days the city was delivered over 
to the drunken fury of the mob. The police were 
powerless. The city militia had gone to Gettysburg 
in answer to the Governor's call. Colored orphan 
asylums were set on fire. Negroes were hunted like 
wild beasts. The houses and homes of the abolitionists 
and the offices of the newspapers were threatened with 
destruction, and in many instances barricaded and 
guarded by armed men. Volunteers and veterans pro- 
tected the armories and the arsenals, and a few gunboats 
were anchored in the river to warn the mob of impend- 
ing retribution at the hands of the national government. 
Meanwhile the militia began to return, and President 
Lincoln agreed to postpone the enforcement of the draft 
until the 19th of August. 

On July 30th the order from which the following is 
extracted was issued : 

Headquarters Army of the Potomac, 

July 30, 1863. 

Special Orders, No. 202. 

VII. Pursuant to instructions which have been received 
from the general-in-chief, four regiments of this army will 
immediately proceed to New York Harbor, and, on arriving 
there, will be reported to Brig. -Gen. E. R. S. Canby. Two 
of these regiments will be taken from the Third Corps and 
two from the Sixth Corps, and will be selected preferably 
from Western and New England regiments. No New York 
or Pennsylvania troops will be sent. The corps command- 
ers named will detach for duty strong and efficient regi- 
ments, and will have them march to-morrow morning, in 
season to reach Warrenton Junction by 11 a.m. 

By command of Major-General Meade: 

S. Williams, Assistant Adjutant-General. 1 

■O. R.,xxvii.,pt.3, p. 787. 



Enforcing the Draft in New York 115 

On July 31st General Meade reported to General 
Halleck that the First and Thirty-seventh Massachu- 
setts, Fifth Wisconsin, and Twentieth Indiana were 
ordered to New York Harbor; aggregate present for 
duty 1643 men, Colonel Edwards in command. ' 

At midnight of July 30th we were awakened by the 
startling announcement that we were to start for New 
York at three o'clock a.m. to assist in enforcing the 
draft. No more sleep for us that night. We began to 
pack immediately, and got our breakfast and were ready 
to start at three a.m., but as usual, on such occasions, 
the movement was delayed and we did not start until 
five. Then we marched to Warrenton Junction, ten 
miles, arriving there at ten-thirty in the morning. We 
were loaded on freight cars and taken to Alexandria, 
where we arrived at three o'clock that afternoon. We 
devoured what pies and cakes we could find at hand in 
the streets of Alexandria during our short stay there, 
and then went forward to Washington, where we 
arrived at five o'clock, and had more pies and cakes. 
In addition to this we were taken to some barracks and 
fed on the same kind of rations which were served to us 
on the occasion of our first visit to Washington. They 
tasted a little better than they had on the first occasion, 
because we had become accustomed to that kind of fare, 
but they did not taste half as good as the street pies 
and cakes that we picked up along the highway. 

We left Washington at midnight and reached Balti- 
more at eight o'clock the next morning. Here we were 
fed on lemonade and cake on the streets, which again 
tasted wonderfully good to our starved stomachs. We 
left Baltimore at noon and passed through Havre de 
Grace and reached Philadelphia at eight o'clock that 

1 O. R., xxvii., pt. 1, p. 108. 



n6 Recollections of the Civil War 

night, where as usual we had a feast that was fit for the 
gods. From Philadelphia we rode in passenger cars, 
which made us feel that we were once more in the coun- 
try where we were recognized as human beings. From 
there they carried us over the old Camden and Amboy 
route to Amboy, where we arrived at eight o'clock 
Sunday morning, August 2d, and by nine o'clock were 
on board a boat sailing up the magnificent harbor of 
New York. We landed at the Battery at ten o'clock of 
that day. 

To breathe the sea air and enjoy the refreshing sights 
and scenes of a civilized city like New York seemed 
like Elysium. We looked like tramps, but we did not 
mind that. We knew we were welcome, and never 
before had the Battery looked so beautiful. We 
marched up Broadway to the City Hall Park, dined at 
the Massachusetts Relief rooms just opposite, and then 
marched back to the Battery. There we learned that 
our destination was Fort Hamilton, which we reached 
at five o'clock that afternoon, and drew tents and 
pitched camp as rapidly as possible. We were prepared 
to find any spot attractive after the experiences which 
we had passed through, but this seemed like a visit to a 
watering place in the midst of the heat of summer, and 
all at Uncle Sam's expense. Good bathing privileges 
were given us on the shore a short distance from our 
camp, and the next few days we luxuriated in sea bath- 
ing. But it was not all as fine as it looked. We had 
not been there many days before the regiments began 
to be afflicted with fever and ague, and as a consequence 
we suffered from fever and ague for years afterwards. 
The camp was located on the borders of a muddy marsh, 
and malaria became epidemic. 

Of course we managed to communicate at once with 



Enforcing the Draft in New York 117 

our friends and let them know that we had unexpect- 
edly come to New York. My father and mother and 
brothers at the time were making a visit to Bingham- 
ton, New York, and they were as much surprised when 
they received my telegram announcing my presence in 
New York City as I was at being there. It did not take 
them very long to come to the city and look me over 
and see that I was veritably in the flesh, and during the 
next fortnight we had much pleasant visiting, not only 
from our relatives, but from friends who happened to 
know of our presence and took occasion to call upon us. 
We were allowed more or less liberty in going to the 
city and in making calls and visits upon our friends 
there. Of course we were treated with great consid- 
eration and had every attention that heart could desire 
or love bestow. 

At Fort Hamilton we were encamped with a com- 
pany of regulars, and our drill and dress-parade were 
consequently brought into comparison with theirs. 
This put us upon our mettle and we did our best to 
maintain the reputation of the Thirty-seventh for 
military proficiency. 

August 6th was celebrated as a day of special thanks- 
giving appointed by President Lincoln 1 in recognition 
of the blessings vouchsafed to the national arms in the 
victories at Gettysburg and Vicksburg. We celebrated 
the day as a sort of thanksgiving festival, which the 
presence of our friends made an occasion of thorough 
enjoyment. Thus the happy days passed until on the 
1 8th day of August, after dress parade, we received the 
announcement that our presence would be required in 
the city on the following day to see that the draft was 
duly and regularly made. 

1 Complete Works (Nicolay and Hay), vol. ii., p. 370. 



n8 Recollections of the Civil War 

We at once exchanged our dress suits for our rough 
campaign suits, were embarked on board a steamboat 
at the wharf, carried to New York, and disembarked 
at the Battery, with sixty rounds of ammunition in our 
cartridge boxes. We passed the night at the Battery, 
and in the early morning marched up Broadway to 
Washington Square, where the regiment went into 
camp and details were made from the various com- 
panies and sent to the drafting places to enforce the 
draft. 

Everything was as quiet and orderly as a New 
England Sabbath. No disturbance occurred any- 
where, and in the evening the various details were 
gathered again in the park and we slept with our guards 
and pickets thrown out as if we were in the enemy's 
country, and on the following afternoon the regiment 
again marched down Broadway to the Battery and 
embarked on the boat and returned to Fort Hamilton, 
where our drills and inspections and guard-mountings 
and parades under the eye of the regulars were resumed. 

Colonel Edwards thought this a good time for him to 
be married and accordingly left us to our own devices, 
went west to Illinois, and very soon returned with his 
bride, a charming lady, full of Western vivacity and life. 
She was immediately adopted by the regiment, and 
from time to time made us very pleasant visits. 

We remained at Fort Hamilton until the 12th of 
September, when we received orders to pack and to go 
into camp in the city of New York. The ground 
selected as a camp for us to occupy was located on 
Fifth Avenue, between 48th and 49th Streets, near the 
• Catholic Cathedral. Think of residing on Fifth 
Avenue even for a short space of time after having 
wallowed in the mud of Virginia ! It was like dreamland. 



Enforcing the Draft in New York 119 

Our camp was immediately the centre of interest there 
and the ladies of the neighborhood feasted us with all 
the delicacies that heart could desire. We had daily 
guard-mountings and dress-parades, attended by large 
audiences from Fifth Avenue and its vicinity, and long 
lines of carriages stood waiting on the avenue in front of 
our quarters, occupied by fair maidens who daily re- 
sorted there to witness our proficiency and to encourage 
us by their presence. 

On September 15th, I was sent with a detail, com- 
posed of my own company and another company from 
the regiment, to report to police headquarters at 300 
Mulberry Street. My duty there was to receive and 
take charge of deserters and conscripts who were ar- 
rested and brought in by the police each day, and to 
return them to their regiments in the neighborhood of 
Washington. I had a large room assigned to me for 
my office at police headquarters with the two companies 
lodged in the building to act under my orders. I felt 
very much like a New York police commissioner with 
an independent police force. My time was very largely 
my own, so that I could call on friends or occasionally 
go to the theatre, always provided I was on hand when 
the General sent for me to report at his headquarters, 
which circumstance did not occur more than twice 
while I was there. This lasted until the 6th of October, 
when the detail at police headquarters was discon- 
tinued, and we rejoined the regiment at Fifth Avenue. 
On October 10th I went home to Amherst on leave 
of absence for ten days, and during my absence the 
regiment received orders from Washington directing 
its return to Virginia, which was accordingly under- 
taken on the 14th of October, 1863. Breaking camp 
at 8 o'clock in the morning and marching down Fifth 



120 Recollections of the Civil War 

Avenue and Broadway to the foot ot Murray Street, 
they embarked on a steamer and took the cars for 
Philadelphia. The cause of their return was General 
Lee's movement against the Army of the Potomac, 
which resulted in the battle of Bristoe Station, on 
October 14th. 

This New York episode in our career was always re- 
membered as an experience of unusual pleasure such as 
is rarely accorded to a soldier. We were gratified at 
being selected for the service, as it was regarded as a 
special compliment to our reliability as soldiers. It 
was a picnic that lasted two months and a half, and 
aside from the fever and ague which we contracted at 
Fort Hamilton and which stayed with us during the 
remainder of our term of service, no more enjoyable 
trip could have been furnished us. 




CAPTAIN MASON W. TYLER. 

From a photograph taken in 1863 or 1864. 



CHAPTER VIII 

FROM FAIRFAX COURT-HOUSE TO BRANDY 

STATION 

OCTOBER l6, I863, TO MARCH 10, 1864 

AFTER such an outing, it was hard work to settle 
down again to hardtack and salt pork, but every 
feast has its day of retribution. We now had to give 
up Fifth Avenue and return to the mud huts of Virginia. 
We reached Fairfax Station about noon, October 16th. 
It was raining hard. We disembarked and marched 
to Fairfax Court-House and went to bed in the mud. 
During the night it cleared and we resumed our march 
in the morning, going as far as Chantilly, where we 
rejoined the Sixth Corps and pursued our route to 
Gainesville and Warrenton. These are classic names 
in the history of the Army of the Potomac. It was 
from Warrenton that we left the Army of the Potomac 
to go to New York. So we were once more back at our 
starting point after a three months' absence, and our 
usual routine of picket and inspections and the making 
of returns commenced, and kept us busy. 

In one of my letters, dated November ist, from the 
vicinity of Warrenton, I write: 

We are stationed on one of the highest hills in the neigh- 
borhood. We overlook the surrounding country for miles. 



122 Recollections of the Civil War 

It is a fine prospect. Hills covered with a beautiful varie- 
gated foliage, now in the last stages of their summer glory, 
lie in all directions about us, except to the west, where the 
Blue Ridge commands a superior homage on account of its 
heights. This is a hilly country, and prettily situated farm- 
houses dot almost every mountain notch. The houses are 
small and the farms neglected. My company is scattered 
over half a mile of territory, and every little while I am 
interrupted by some one wanting to pass through the lines 
or a countryman desiring to sell something to the boys. 
Wood is scarce ; we have to go a mile for our camp supply. 
Water also is scarce. 

At the time of his advance to Bristoe Station, General 
Lee had done all that he could to destroy the railroad 
between Warrenton Junction and the Rapidan. He 
had burned the ties, taken up the rails and carried them 
away. Evidently General Meade had decided to 
winter his army upon the Rapidan. It would be 
strategically well situated for watching both the Valley 
of the Shenandoah on the west and the approaches to 
Washington east of the Blue Ridge. It was about 
sixty miles southwest of Washington and was con- 
nected by this one line of single-track railway. Near 
the point where the railroad crossed the Rappahannock, 
the Confederates had erected a fort, two redoubts, 
and several lines of rifle trenches, and these were held 
by two thousand men belonging to Early's division of 
E well's corps. 

On Saturday, November 7th, the Sixth Corps left 
their camp near Warrenton at five o'clock in the morn- 
ing, and marched fourteen miles to Rappahannock 
Station. Upon their arrival there they at once formed 
line of battle, and our division, under the command of 
General Terry, assaulted the redoubt and works and 



From Fairfax C.-H. to Brandy Station 123 

carried them by storm. The assaulting column was 
led by Brigadier-Generals Russell and Upton, of the 
Sixth Corps, who in the most gallant manner conducted 
their men over the escarpment of the fort. By the 
free use of the bayonet and with clubbed muskets they 
overpowered the garrison, and captured more than 
1700 men and seven pieces of artillery. The Second 
Rhode Island and Thirty-seventh Massachusetts were 
with Wheaton's brigade on the right of the line sup- 
porting the skirmish line composed of the Tenth and 
Seventh Massachusetts regiments. 1 

On November 8th we were awakened at four-thirty 
a.m., and marched at six, going with the Fifth Corps 
to Kelly's Ford, eight miles below Rappahannock 
Station on the river. We remained here until the 12th, 
and then returned to Rappahannock Station, crossed 
the river, and advanced to where we went into winter 
quarters. 2 

1 See General Terry's report, 0. R., xxix., pt. i, p. 605. 

In a letter to his parents dated November 8, 1863, M. W. T. wrote 
of the advance to Rappahannock Station: "We marched beside the 
track of the Culpeper Railroad a good deal of the way. Such a com- 
plete destruction as the Rebs have effected I never saw nor realized 
before. The rails are all carried off and the sleepers are burned. Four 
o'clock found us formed in line of battle, and the contest raged until 
long after dark, when the final charge was made into the Rebel works, 
taking their first breastworks, seventeen hundred men, and seven pieces 
of artillery, rumor says. It was quite a spirited little affair for a couple 
of hours, although most of the firing and fighting was done by the skir- 
mishers, who were very strong. We lay on the right of the line support- 
ing the Tenth and Seventh, who were on the skirmish line, but too far 
to the right to get the heaviest of it. We, however, could see the most 
of it, and the cheers of the combatants told us how the conflict was rag- 
ing, and we knew very soon of our success after it was achieved." 

2 In a letter to his brother Henry, November 13, 1863, he wrote from 
Brandy Station: " I have been reading pretty much all day on ' Military 
Law and Courts-Martial.' Too much reading out here stretched on 
your back in your shelter low tents is not the best thing in the world to 



124 Recollections of the Civil War 

General Sedgwick occupied a house owned by John 
Minor Botts 1 for his headquarters. I built my own 
house with a stone chimney this year; heretofore our 
chimneys had been of wood, thickly plartered with 
mud on the inside, and with a wooden barrel on top. 
They sometimes caught fire, but not often. At this 
time we belonged to the Second Brigade, Third Division, 
Sixth Corps. 2 My diary indicates an unusual amount 

take. It is rather too apt to produce headache, etc. To be sure, writing 
sitting on the floor is not much more comfortable, but by varying the 
two I manage to get along. We have got into a miserable camp this 
time. It is so low where the company streets are situated that if it 
should rain a single day we should be swamped. Meanwhile, the boys 
are busy at work building log huts. The great trouble is that wood is 
so scarce that, like the Egyptians of old, it is making bricks without 
straw. . . . 

"The Rebs had got all ready to go into winter quarters. They had 
built nice houses in this immediate vicinity that are now occupied by 
the First Division of our corps. They evidently were very much sur- 
prised at our coming on this side of the Rappahannock. The railroad is 
not destroyed, but left entire on this side, and every indication shows 
that they had settled down to a winter's quiet. I think it a great pity, 
now that we have got started, that we don't push right on to Richmond 
and drive them before us, and trust to the railroad, either this route or 
the Aquia Creek Line, to supply our wants after we get there. But 
that is not Meade, you know. He never risks anything, but often loses 
good opportunities by his caution. The army is in prime condition 
now, and would like to fight a decisive battle here. . . . 

"You must excuse my writing with a pencil, but I have no ink, and I 
have to borrow so much for my government writing that I hate to borrow 
when I can help it. The drums are just beating for retreat. If you had 
to be drummed out to the notes of that infernal drum three or ten times 
a day, according as it happens, you would growl, I know, when you heard 
it beat. Accordingly, as I have just been out and attended roll call, I 
think I have done my duty by the drum this time, and may afford to be 
cool once more. 

"After supper. I have just been feasting off from a big plate of cakes. 
They went right to the spot, I assure you. It is getting rather dark and 
I must close." 

Another letter reads: "Brandy Station, November 15, 1863. 

1 Shown on War Map 87 (2) and (3). a O. R., xxix., pt. 2, p. 605. 



From Fairfax C.-H. to Brandy Station 125 

of calling and sociability in the regiment during this 
month. One day I had a visit from Horace Binny, 
who was a captain on General Neill's staff. Another 
day Captain Hutchinson of the Forty-ninth Pennsyl- 
vania called. Captain Lincoln and I usually spent our 
evenings together either at his tent or at mine. On 
November 20th there was a baseball game between the 
Tenth and Thirty-seventh, and the Thirty-seventh won. 
We kept hearing rumors that there was to be a move 

My dear Parents: We have had rather an excited, uncertain sort of 
a Sunday. In the first place, it stormed so hard last night that our 
camp is all flooded, and the tents are mostly pitched in the midst of the 
many mud puddles that form our camp. It rained very hard until 
about ten o'clock this morning, up to which time we had all we could do 
to keep from being carried off bodily. Then it suddenly cleared off with 
a rainbow. Just as it cleared off, cannonading commenced over to the 
east of us, and within twenty minutes we received orders to pack and be 
ready to move at a moment's notice. So we packed, but hearing noth- 
ing further from the Rebs and their supposed attack we got orders to 
move camp, so we pitched on the side hill, rather than in the mud. By 
this time it was noon, and we received notice from the quartermaster's 
department that they had clothing ready to issue to the regiment. So 
we got our clothing, and ate dinner, and now I have managed to get 
time enough to write my Sunday letter. I have managed to read the 
Independent and Congregationalist at odd spells, while waiting for 
things to progress, and standing over the fire drying myself. Last 
night at sundown, the real old Saturday night feeling came over me, and 
I lay in my tent a good share of the evening, thinking in the dark, while 
outside it was raining hard. I thought of you gathered around your 
cheerful fireside, and with your work all laid aside for the pleasant Sun- 
day books, and the papers in each and all of your hands. I could see 
you perfectly. I thought you looked very comfortable. I only wished 
I could step in on you for a moment, and a second thought told me I 
should disturb all that quiet repose, and as it was, we were both very 
peacefully enjoying ourselves. So perhaps it was best as it was. At 
any rate, I comforted myself with the thought. It is after dark. It 
seems as if the days grow dark earlier out here than they used to at home. 
My present accommodations are not conducive to long letters. If I 
had a desk to write on I should feel like writing another sheet, but as it is 
I have to sit like a Turk— cross-legged — and it is not very comfortable, 
so good-night. Ever your affectionate son, Mason." 



126 Recollections of the Civil War 

of some sort. We had never attempted a winter cam- 
paign, and of course we were very incredulous about 
the possibility of such a thing, but it was finally at- 
tempted. On November 26th, Thanksgiving Day, we 
suddenly received marching orders. We were awak- 
ened at four a.m., breakfasted, packed and started at 
eight. We moved a half-mile, then we were halted, 
and the news of Grant's success at Chattanooga was 
promulgated to the army. Hooker and Thomas 
were also mentioned. We then proceeded on our way, 
but as it had recently rained, we were much troubled 
by muddy roads. Our Thanksgiving dinner was bread 
and butter. We made very slow progress, but kept at 
it persistently, and at ten that evening we found our- 
selves at Jacob's Mill Ford — having marched a dis- 
tance of twelve miles. We remained over the next 
day at Jacob's Mill Ford to superintend the passage 
of the trains across the river. 

On Saturday, the 28th, we started at one a.m., got 
under way at two, and overtook the rest of the corps at 
seven a.m. at Robertson's Tavern, where we united 
with the left of the Second Corps. The greater part of 
the day on Saturday was devoted to the making of a 
reconnoissance, conducted in the rain, which with the 
wind greatly delayed our operations. On Sunday, 
the 29th, we were awakened at four-thirty a.m., and 
our division was directed to go with the Second Corps 
and make a detour around the right of the Rebel posi- 
tion. We marched some ten or twelve miles through 
the woods until we struck the Plank Road. Meanwhile, 
the rain had ceased and it had cleared off cold. Our 
movements had been delayed so seriously by various 
mishaps that we were obliged to abandon all hope of 
surprising the enemy, and on Monday morning after a 



From Fairfax C.-H. to Brandy Station 127 

careful survey of the situation made by Generals War- 
ren and Sedgwick, it was decided to return to camp. 
At dark we moved back three miles and encamped in 
the woods. x 

• 

1 This was the Mine Run campaign. Lee's army was "found to be 
spread out for some 20 miles over the country beyond the Rapidan, with 
the fords of that river imperfectly guarded. Meade's plan of operations 
contemplated a rapid movement of his own army by different routes, 
penetrating between the separated corps of his antagonist and fighting 
and defeating them in detail" (Bowen, p. 235). 

At page 240, Bowen continues: " Having advanced as far as practic- 
able without a conflict, General Meade disposed his army in front of 
the Run. . . . General Sedgwick with his First and Second Divisions 
was thrown well to the right, while his Third Division [Terry's] . . . 
was detached to co-operate with the Second Corps in f eeling for a more 
vulnerable point to the left. 

"Accordingly the men of the Thirty-seventh found themselves 
aroused at 1 o'clock in the morning of Sunday, the 29th, drew a small 
additional supply of rations, and before daylight were on their way, 
passing Robertson's Tavern, through to the plank road and beyond it, 
around the head of Mine Run, the advance skirmishing continually with 
the enemy's outposts and driving them back till near night, when Gen- 
eral Warren, believing that he had found a comparatively weak point, 
so reported to Meade and disposed his forces for the attack whenever it 
should be ordered. General Sedgwick from the right also reported that 
he deemed an assault in his front practicable. General Warren was 
strengthened with two divisions from the Third Corps and directed to 
attack at 8 o'clock next morning in connection with a heavy artillery 
fire from the centre, while Sedgwick was to ' go in ' an hour later. 

"The Thirty-seventh were in reserve during the night of the 29th, 
lying on their arms and sleeping as much as possible in the intense cold, 
which had now become so intolerable that men were frozen to death on 
the picket line. Early in the morning the regiment was moved forward 
to the front line, taking position on the extreme left. It was terribly 
uncomfortable lying upon the frozen ground hour after hour waiting for 
the signal to spring to their feet and dash forward into the face of death, 
and the men would almost have welcomed the command, since it would 
have stirred the blood and warmed the benumbed limbs, but it did not 
come. The morning's inspection of the works in his front revealed to 
Warren that his intention to attack had been anticipated. . . . The 
plan of attack which on the previous afternoon had seemed feasible was 
now seen to be hazardous to the degree of rashness, . . . and reluctantly 



128 Recollections of the Civil War 

We rested in a forest of pine the next day. It was a 
wild November scene; God's canopy overhead, the 
sighing of the pine branches in the chill autumnal 
winds, make it memorable through the long years that 
have intervened. 

Frank Walker dropped in upon me that morning, 
and was cheery as usual. On Wednesday, we resumed 
our march. In a letter written home at this time I say: 

I suppose we are somewhere in the vicinity of Verdier- 
ville, fourteen miles from Orange Court-House. But I 
know nothing except as I judge from the distance and direc- 
tion we have marched. In fact, no one in the brigade 
seems to know exactly where we are. The fact is, we have 
moved all ways, north, south, east, and west, until even our 
brigade commanders are at a loss to know our whereabouts. 
Day before yesterday General Eustis could n't tell within 
ten miles of where we were. x 

the orders were issued which should record upon the movement the 
verdict of 'failure.' 

"All day the Thirty-seventh remained in their uncomfortable position, 
the skirmishers and sharpshooters in front keeping up an incessant 
fusillade, though by rare good fortune the loss was only one or two men 
wounded." 

The advanced position of the Third Division, Sixth Corps, is shown on 
War Map 87 (1). 

1 The letter here referred to, dated " Camp-in-the-Woods, December 
1, 1863," i s addressed to his parents, and continues: "I have not writ- 
ten since we started because there has been no chance to send or to write. 
Thanksgiving morning we started and moved through mud very slowly 
until about ten p.m. when we crossed the Rapidan at Jacob's Ford. We 
stopped at the ford Friday. Friday afternoon the Third Corps, rein- 
forced by one division of our corps, had a small fight with the Rebs, 
about three miles from where we were, and we, meanwhile, were in line 
of battle ready to fight if called on. Friday night we started about 
twelve o'clock, and marched until about eleven o'clock Saturday through 
the rain and mud, when we came up with the enemy, confronted by the 
Second Corps, in the immediate vicinity of Mine Run, as near as I can 
find out. We stayed there Saturday. Sunday morning our division 






From Fairfax C.-H. to Brandy Station 129 

On Tuesday, December 1st, after we had nice large 
fires going and were thinking of being very comfortable 
for the night, we received orders at about eight- thirty 
p.m. to very quietly pack up and move. In five minutes 
we were on our way, and during the next three hours 
we made between ten and twelve miles. We were on 
the double-quick most of the time. It was very cold, 
hence running only warmed us. We crossed the Rapi- 
dan at Ely's Ford at seven a.m., December 2d. Then 
we rested. I slept two hours. We started again at 
noon and marched until dark twelve miles to Brandy 
Station, which was only four miles from our camp, 
where we arrived early the next day. We were tired 
and footsore, and very glad to get home; no rations 
that day, and only one meal the day before. The 
Mine Run campaign was the most vexatious we had 
experienced up to this time. 

The Thirty-seventh had two men wounded during 
this expedition. r But if the orders to attack Lee in his 
entrenchments had not been countermanded, I fear 
that it would have been classed with Fredericksburg 
and Cold Harbor, among the blunders of the Army of 
the Potomac. 

was ordered to join the Second Corps, and with them we marched all 
day Sunday, moving about twelve miles, around the right flank of the 
Rebs. When we halted for the night we were said to be only two miles 
distant from our starting point. We made a wide detour. 

"We stopped yesterday in line of battle all day, within a mile of where 
we halted Sunday night, expecting an attack every moment. There 
was some cannonading going on all day, and occasionally a stray shot 
would come whizzing over our heads. Now and then there was a man 
wounded. There was only one man wounded in our regiment. At night 
they moved us back three miles, and here we are this terribly cold 
morning 'in the woods,' making big fires and trying to keep warm. I 
am in tip-top health and spirits. I carry my own knapsack, weighing 
about twenty-five pounds." 

1 O. R., xxix., pt. 1, p. 684. 



130 Recollections of the Civil War 

We were hardly settled in camp when we began to 
hear rumors of further movements. The fear of such 
movements perpetually haunted us. This was the 
army bugaboo. We lived in constant expectation of 
orders to move. And I don't believe there is any place 
where rumors start so easily and grow so fast as they 
do in the army. The air was full of them the greater 
part of the time. As was usually the case, this partic- 
ular rumor of a movement did not materialize. It 
was not many days, however, before we did move our 
camp a short distance, and we were informed that we 
might build with the expectation of spending the winter. 
I had already built two houses with that expectation, 
and now went to work to build a third. 

December 8th, Tuesday, was very cold. I was up 
early to move timbers and build a winter hut. I built 
the best chimney in camp. Axes were scarce, every- 
body was building. That night I slept on poles, took 
cold, and was sore and stiff for several days. To be 
sure, these houses were not very elaborate, but we found 
them very comfortable. They were twelve feet long 
by seven wide, and made of split logs with the cracks 
filled with mud, with a chimney made of stones or wood 
at one end. The roofs were made of the shelter tents 
which we used for tents when we were engaged in the 
campaign. Our beds were in the form of bunks, two 
tiers in height, with poles to sleep on. They were 
located at the end of the house opposite the fireplace, 
and the poles when covered with blankets made comfort- 
able beds. In the middle of one side of the house there 
was a table improvised from cracker boxes, and in front 
of it a bench made from a log and used for a settee. z I 

1 In a letter to his parents, dated "Camp near Brandy Station, No- 
vember 19, 1863," he wrote: "I have built myself a very cozy house 



From Fairfax C.-H. to Brandy Station 131 

sent home and had them send me a volume of Black- 
stone, with which I whiled away some of my leisure 
hours, and they also sent me Les Miserables, a copy of 
Corinne, Charles O'Malley, and Napier's Peninsular War, 
so that I had no lack of good literature. T 

During the month of December I had an attack of 
malarial fever, which sent me to the hospital for a few 
days. But aside from this, I was able to perform all 
the duties that were required of me. We lived very 
comfortably this winter. My diary speaks of large 
supplies of oysters being sent to the army from Wash- 

with a stone fireplace at one end, and a small table, at which I am writ- 
ing, and a good bed that occupies nearly half the tent. We built the 
bed for three in anticipation of Lieutenant Harris's return." 

1 In a letter to his mother, from Brandy Station, January 31, 1864, 
he wrote: " It has been a pretty busy week to me. Busy not with my 
military labors, but with self-imposed labors and pleasures. I have 
read two stories. Early in the week I began The Old Curiosity Shop, 
and finished it Thursday. Then yesterday I finished The Last Days 
of Pompeii, which I consider one of the best and most powerful stories 
I have ever read. I am accomplishing a good deal this winter in the 
reading line, and enjoying it much, too. The fact is, I sit in my tent 
and read the most of the day, except when I am occupied with my camp 
duties, which only occupy me two or three hours a day. I rarely go to 
bed before twelve o'clock, because if I do I am sure to he awake in the 
morning. So this makes me quite a long day. Sometimes we get up a 
game of ball, and now we have some apparatus for gymnastics, that 
occupies some of my time. 

"Quite often, the early part of the evening, I engage in a game of 
chess or checkers or whist, until about nine o'clock, when I go to reading 
again. 

" So I have given you a pretty good account of how I spend my time. 
You can imagine that I devote some time of each day to writing letters. 
That I usually do in the evening. 

"Last evening about eight o'clock we received the summons from the 
colonel to repair to his tent, and going over found his table spread with 
all sorts of delicacies from home, and he invited us to partake in com- 
memoration of his birthday. So we spent a jolly hour with the colonel, 
and then returned to our tents." 



132 Recollections of the Civil War 

ington. We always had an abundant supply of soft 
bread furnished by our commissaries when we were in 
winter quarters. Borden's condensed milk in cans was 
one of the luxuries invented at this time for our delec- 
tation and comfort. 

During the month of January I spent a few days in 
Washington, and while there I was taken to the White 
House by Mr. Washburn, our representative in Con- 
gress, and presented to President Lincoln. I have no 
recollection of what was said at the interview, but the 
fact that I saw him during that visit is indelibly stamped 
upon my memory, as it was the only occasion when I. 
shook hands with him. During this visit I met Gen- 
eral Caldwell at the Metropolitan Hotel, and he invited 
me to dine with him. The General was very free in his 
criticisms of men and measures. He was a man of 
superior literary tastes. Among other things he ad- 
vised me to read Austin's Jurisprudence, for the mental 
and legal training that the book afforded. 

As the winter progressed, wood for camp use grew 
very scarce. Every cord that we used had to be drawn 
by teams from two to four miles. Under these circum- 
stances we had to be very economical in making fires, 
and sometimes we were cold. Our picket line was six 
miles distant from our camp, and the picket details were 
made for a week each, so that the men might not have 
to go out too many times in the season. I think I was 
not detailed for picket duty more than twice during the 
entire winter. The rules applicable to picket duty were 
very strictly enforced, and every precaution was taken 
to avoid a surprise. The corps officer of the day was in 
the habit of spending a good deal of time during his 
tour of duty on the lines, and woe betide the sentinel 
that was inclined to be lax in the performance of his 






From Fairfax C.-H. to Brandy Station 133 

duties. No effort was spared to make the pickets alert, 
and as a consequence there was little rest for either 
the officers or the men during the week that they were 
detailed for such service. z 

Three times during this season I was favored with 
a box of dainties from home, and the men in the com- 
pany were also remembered and favored in the same 
way. We had a thirty-pound turkey sent down to us, 
which was the wonder of the camp. And no dish that 
was ever concocted was quite so palatable as the mince 
pies which, during that winter, they sent us from home. 

Our camp amusements also were some of them very 
homelike. Our chaplain used to hold spelling contests, 
and we had a debating club that was very well patro- 
nized. The chaplain had a small building which, after 
the fashion of New England, he used for both church 
and school purposes. Here the voice of prayer and 
song were heard. Music exercises a strange spell over 

1 In a letter to his parents from Brandy Station, February 5, 1864, he 
wrote: 

" I have been out on picket during the last week, so that you have not 
got your accustomed supply of letters this week, and I am afraid I shall 
not write a very long one this time, because I am very tired with being 
up a good deal nights, and marching six miles in coming back to camp. 
For our picket line is out some six miles. . . . The first day I was out 
there, there was a very heavy mist, and that night we had quite a severe 
thunder storm, the first of the season. We had no tents up, and nothing 
but rails over us to keep the rain off. I, however, kept dry by dint of 
my rubber overcoat. I slept passably well that night, and at three in 
the morning, when I had to take my turn at watching, the rain had 
ceased, and the wind begun to spring up quite cold. Wednesday it was 
sunny, but cold and windy. We built enormous fires from the oak and 
maple trees around us, and kept very warm indeed, in fact at our fire 
alone we kept one good chopper busy cutting down timber and piling it 
onto the fire. We burned at the rate of about a cord and a half a day. 
The line that I had command of was almost two miles long, so that it 
gave me something of a job to go through the length of it once a day. 
While out on picket I read Bulwer Lytton's Rienzi. " 



134 Recollections of the Civil War 

the soldier. We had many fine bands which cheered 
and inspired our life in camp. A man named Stearns 
in Company F, who usually answered to the sobriquet 
of the "old hoss," had a wonderfully clear and penetrat- 
ing voice, and often when everybody was exhausted, 
in the loneliness of our night and forest marches, he 
would make the woods ring with a strain of music that 
seemed to be audible for miles, and gave new life and 
encouragement to the weary soldier. 

During this winter the officers in the regiment drew 
lots to determine the order in which they would take 
their leaves of absence, and my lot gave me the eigh- 
teenth turn. It looked very doubtful whether I could 
get my leave, and finally I went without it. During 
March and April I was engaged in court-martial, and 
most of the time was acting as Judge Advocate. I was 
glad to have this experience, as I had decided to make 
the law my profession, and the experience that I 
acquired in trying these cases was of some value to me 
in after years. It gave me some experience in exam- 
ining witnesses and eliciting testimony. It also brought 
me in contact with the field officers of other regiments, 
and enabled me to make many pleasant acquaintances. 
Our court-martial sat at the headquarters of the Ver- 
mont brigade, and there was no better brigade in the 
army. 

Several of our classmates took advantage of Cap- 
tain Lincoln's and my presence in the army to get a 
taste of army life. Dr. Shepard was studying dentistry, 
and to get a little experience in the line of his profession, 
he came down to the army and made us a visit, and we 
got the quartermaster to furnish him a tent and he 
practised on our teeth for nearly a month. He thus 
did us a favor and benefited himself, at the same time. 



From Fairfax C.-H. to Brandy Station 135 

M. F. Dickinson 1 promised to come down and spend a 
couple of weeks with us, but he delayed so long that 
when he arrived at Washington the army was ready to 
move, and the government officers at Washington were 
refusing passes to all applicants who wanted to visit the 
Army of the Potomac. We finally made an arrange- 
ment with our sutler to go to Washington and bring 
Dickinson down in the guise of a sutler's clerk. Another 
classmate of ours, by the name of Houghton, came to 
Washington about the same time, and he got through 
the lines as an employee of the Christian Commission. 
We five classmates spent our evenings together at either 
Lincoln's or my quarters during the greater part of the 
month of April, and had very jolly times. 

From February 28th to March 4th, the Sixth Corps 
were engaged with the cavalry under General Kilpatrick 
in an unsuccessful attempt to release the Union pris- 
oners held at Richmond. General Kilpatrick crossed 
the Rapidan at Ely's Ford, and then despatched Colonel 
Dahlgren with a picked force of five hundred men to 
try to enter the defences of Richmond and release the 
prisoners, while the Sixth Corps kept Lee's army 
occupied by a feigned attack on his lines in front of the 
Army of the Potomac. The following lines in my diary 
refer to our part in this fiasco : 

February 27, 1864. Six a.m. arose and packed. Started 
at 9 a.m. Marched by John Minor Botts' house through 
Culpeper, and reached James City near Thoroughfare 
Mountain at 4.30 p.m. I saw an old man and three ladies 
who lived in a house near the picket line. They told me 
that flour was $250 a barrel. 

My boots were very bad and out of shape, and the con- 
sequence was by the time we got to Culpeper, I had two 

1 A college classmate. 



136 Recollections of the Civil War 

good blisters, one on each heel, and each as large as a wal- 
nut. But I stuck to it until we arrived at James City, 
where we stopped for the night. There, by means of bath- 
ing and soaking my feet and stockings, I slightly improved 
my condition. Just as I got settled supposedly for the 
night, I was detailed with one hundred men for picket duty. 
It required all my grit to submit and not to shirk or ask to 
be excused. So I limped up and down that picket line all 
that weary night. 

February 28, 1864. Slept four or five hours last night. 
Am very lame this morning. Returned to the regiment 
about 8 o'clock and started to march at 9.30. Reached 
Robertson's River (a distance of eight miles) about one, 
and stopped to build a bridge. About 2 p.m. we crossed 
and bivouacked for the night. Torbert's brigade was in the 
advance, and occupied Madison Court-House. All the 
rest of the corps, with the exception of our brigade, stayed 
on the other side of the river. 

Monday, February 29th, we rested, and found it 
pleasant. Early in the morning, Custer with his 
cavalry started out and we were to wait for his return 
before we could turn our faces homeward. Monday 
night it commenced to rain. I took no shelter tent 
with me on the reconnoissance, and so had to lie in the 
open and take it as it came down, filtered by some rails 
which we put over us. 

March 1st, Tuesday, was a very disagreeable day. 
Rain and mud with a cold air beat pitilessly on man 
and beast. About 5.30 p.m. Custer and his cavalry 
appeared, and we waded and ploughed through the mud 
and the dark until we found a proper place on the north 
side of the river, and there encamped for the night. We 
kept up good fires and managed to be tolerably com- 
fortable. We could hear distant firing. But the 
wagons that had our blankets were not to be found. 






From Fairfax C.-H. to Brandy Station 137 

Consequently, the officers in our brigade spent a sleep- 
less night. We gathered around large fires and told 
stories, and the drinkers drank whiskey, and we waited 
for the dawn. It cleared off during the night, and 
became cold. 

March 2, 1864. Some twenty or thirty darkies 
passed by us this morning in all sorts of rigs, and in 
all sorts of sizes, with a great variety of property. 
Our marching column started about 7. We marched 
very rapidly. About 3 p.m. we reached Culpeper. 
Marched through the town to music. Arrived at our 
camp about 5 p.m., having made twenty-three miles. 
You can hardly imagine how good a log cabin feels after 
such an expedition. Words cannot describe how hard 
I slept that night. Two almost sleepless nights and a 
long hard march in the mud made me unusually tired, 
and I went to sleep and slept eleven hours. x 

Meanwhile, on March 10th, General U. S. Grant had 
been promoted to the rank of lieutenant-general, and 
appointed commander-in-chief of all armies in the field. 
He had the prestige of success in the West, and he 
brought with him to his new field of operations the 
reputation of being always ready to fight, of having won 
Vicksburg by his brilliant strategy, and conquered at 
Chattanooga by his indomitable courage. He was 
now to be matched against the ablest commander that 
the war had produced. We knew that it meant a 
battle royal, but we had no conception of what was 
before us. The past was mere child's play in com- 
parison with what we were now to encounter. Little 

1 A note in M. W. T.'s handwriting on the margin of his copy of 
Bowen's history remarks: "I marched on this expedition with a blis- 
tered heel, and the scar still remains. My boots did not fit well, and 
chafed my heel, until the last day I limped on my toe the twenty miles." 



138 Recollections of the Civil War 

did we reck that within thirty days after the campaign 
opened fifty thousand of our comrades would be num- 
bered among the killed and wounded. 

General Grant commenced by reorganizing the Army 
of the Potomac in three infantry corps, to wit, the 
Second, Fifth, and Sixth, and one cavalry corps under 
command of General Sheridan, and maintained the 
Ninth Corps as a separate organization under com- 
mand of General Burnside. The First and Third 
Corps organizations were discontinued, and the regi- 
ments from these corps were transferred to the corps 
whose organizations were retained. By this operation 
Eustis's brigade became the Fourth Brigade of the 
Second Division of the Sixth Corps, and General 
George W. Getty became the commander of that 
division. 



CHAPTER IX 
THE WILDERNESS 

MAY 4, 5, AND 6, I864 

THE Thirty-seventh had now been in the service 
twenty-one months. Considering the fact that 
it had borne its part in five such battles as First and 
Second Fredericksburg, Salem Heights, Gettysburg, and 
Rappahannock Station, its percentage of loss had been 
remarkably low. We began to regard ourselves as 
favorites of fortune. We were exposed for hours at 
Salem Heights, yet bullets seemed to avoid us. At 
Gettysburg, on the afternoon of the second day, we 
were waiting for the order to wade into the bloody 
shambles of the Wheatfield, when the firing ceased; 
and on the third day, we arrived at the point of danger 
just in time to see the enemy throw down their arms 
and submit to capture without our firing a gun. Now, 
however, we were to bear our full share of the losses, to 
see our regiment dwindle in twelve months from a body 
of 650 men until it could scarcely muster 150 men for 
service in the ranks. 

It is a singular circumstance that Grant should have 
been caught in the trap that had proved such a fatal 
snare to all the hopes of Hooker. If ever a net was 
spread in the sight of a bird, Lee did it at the Wilderness, 
and Grant was the bird. The problem that Grant had 

139 



140 Recollections of the Civil War 

to solve was the transfer of his army, with its immense 
trains of ammunition and reserve supplies, from the line 
of the Orange & Alexandria Railroad to that of the 
Richmond & Fredericksburg Railroad. The latter 
road was easily protected and defended ; the former was 
open to attack, and difficult of defence. But on the 
south side of the Rappahannock, for a distance of 
thirty miles above Fredericksburg, and with a uniform 
width of nearly thirty miles south of the river, lies the 
impenetrable jungle which we call the Wilderness. It 
is a country cut by deep ravines and sluggish streams. 
Here and there are cleared spaces, but for the most 
part it is tangled thicket, a wild, luxuriant forest growth, 
with a few narrow roads intersecting it, and concealed 
pathways hidden within its secret depths, known only 
to the natives of the region. Cavalry were useless 
here. Artillery could only be used in spots. The 
trains were an incumbrance because they occupied the 
roads and interfered with the movement of the troops. 
In the recesses of the forest lurked our foes, using all 
the tricks and devices of savage warfare, crawling 
through the brush, shooting at us from concealed 
thickets, springing at us from trees and bushes, while 
the bullets from unseen guns and masked batteries 
prostrated our soldiers by the thousand. Human 
nerves were not made to stand the strain of such a war- 
fare as this. A man can be brave as long as he can see 
his foe, but will quail and tremble in the presence of 
darkness and the goblins of the air. It was these unseen, 
imaginary forces that Lee was now summoning to his 
assistance. His army numbered a little over seventy 
thousand men, while Grant had a hundred and twenty 
thousand. He staked his all on winning with the 
smaller number against the greater number. He had 



The Wilderness 141 

made it a drawn battle at Chancellorsville ; now he was 
going to achieve victory. He had seen Hooker para- 
lyzed by the mighty influence of fear. Why should not 
Grant succumb to the same potent force? He came 
very near proving that his judgment was sound. 

Colonel Long, in his memoirs of Robert E. Lee, at 
page 327, writes: 

The writer spent the night of the 4th at Lee's head- 
quarters, and breakfasted with him the next morning. The 
General displayed the cheerfulness which he usually ex- 
hibited at meals, and indulged in a few pleasant jests at the 
expense of his staff officers, as was his custom on such 
occasions. In the course of the conversation that attended 
the meal he expressed himself surprised that his new adver- 
sary had placed himself in the same predicament as "Fight- 
ing Joe" had done the previous spring. He hoped the 
result would be even more disastrous to Grant than that 
which Hooker had experienced. He was, indeed, in the 
best of spirits, and expressed much confidence in the result — 
a confidence which was well founded, for there was much 
reason to believe that his antagonist would be at his mercy 
while entangled in these pathless and entangled thickets, in 
whose intricacies disparity of numbers lost much of its 
importance. 

When Lee saw Grant starting for the fords of the 
Rapidan, he knew that he would very soon be enmeshed 
in the heart of the Wilderness, and he hurried his forces 
from their various encampments on the line of the 
Orange & Alexandria Railroad, and brought them up in 
front of the Army of the Potomac to drive it back to the 
Rapidan, as he had previously done when Hooker was 
in command. 

The Second Corps had crossed the Rapidan at Ely's 
Ford, and was advancing on Chancellorsville. The 



142 Recollections of the Civil War 

Fifth and Sixth Corps had crossed at Germanna Ford, 
and were moving towards Wilderness Tavern. The 
important thing was to keep possession of the roads. 
Once entangled in the Wilderness the army could 
neither march nor fight. In many places you could 
not see the length of a company. The main roads 
running east and west were the Orange Turnpike and 
the Orange Plank Road. These were crossed by the 
Germanna Ford Plank Road, the Brock Road, and 
several other small byways whose general direction 
was north and south. 

At midday of May 5th, the situation of the contend- 
ing forces was as follows: South of Wilderness Tavern, 
Ewell attacked Warren's corps on the turnpike, and the 
First and Third Divisions with Neill's brigade of the 
Sixth Corps went to the assistance of Warren, and these 
two forces fought fiercely with each other the most of 
the afternoon. A few miles farther to the southeast, 
Hancock was recalled from Todd's Tavern to meet three 
brigades of Getty's division of the Sixth Corps 1 at the 
junction of the Brock Road with the Orange Plank 
Road, and stop Hill's advance. Longstreet was still 
many miles away at Gordonsville. 

The following extracts from the Official Records will 
explain the happenings to our division. General Getty 
says in his report, dated May 5, 1864 (O- R-» v °l- xxxvi., 
pt. 1, p. 676): 

About 12 m., orders being received from Major-General 
Meade, commanding Army of the Potomac, to hasten out 
to the junction of the Orange Court-House and Germanna 
Plank Roads to support the cavalry, who were being driven 

1 On May 5, 1864, the Thirty-seventh Massachusetts Regiment 
was in the Fourth (Eustis's) Brigade, of the Second (Getty's) Division, 
of the Sixth (Sedgwick's) Corps. (See O. R., xxxvi., pt. i, p. 112.) 



The Wilderness 143 

in from Parker's Store, the division marched rapidly out on 
the plank road for a mile and then took the Brock Road, 
which crossed the Orange Court-House Plank Road a mile 
in advance of the Germanna Plank Road, instead of the lat- 
ter. On approaching the crossroads our cavalry was found 
hastily retiring. Hastening forward, with my staff, I 
reached the crossroads just as the enemy's skirmishers ap- 
peared rapidly advancing to gain possession of this point. 
The presence of my small retinue, consisting of my staff 
and orderlies, standing firmly at the point in dispute, 
although under fire, served to delay their advance for a few 
minutes, during which Wheaton's brigade (the First) was 
brought up at the double-quick, faced to the front, and a 
volley poured in, which drove back the enemy's advance. 
Skirmishers were then immediately deployed, and advanced 
a few hundred yards, until they encountered the enemy's 
skirmishers. The Rebel dead and wounded were found 
within 30 yards of the crossroads, so nearly had they ob- 
tained possession of it. Prisoners taken here reported 
Hill's corps with Heth's division in advance on the Orange 
Court-House Plank Road, advancing. I immediately for- 
warded this information to Major-General Sedgwick, then 
commanding the corps. The division was formed in two 
lines at right angles to the Orange Court-House Plank 
Road, with Wheaton's brigade on both sides of the road, 
Eustis on the right and Grant's (Vermont) brigade on the 
left. In obedience to orders several attempts were now 
made to establish connection with the left of the Fifth 
Corps, but without success, owing to the fact that the 
enemy were in force between the division and that corps. 
For two hours now, save the constant fire of the skirmish- 
ers, everything was quiet. Enemy were evidently getting 
into position and forming their lines. 

At 3.30 p.m. the head of Hancock's column (the Second 
Corps) came up on my left by the Brock Road, and as 
rapidly as possible were forming on the left of the division. 
Wheaton's brigade was now placed wholly on the right of 



144 Recollections of the Civil War 

the road. At this juncture orders were received from 
Major-General Meade, commanding the Army of the 
Potomac, to attack at once without waiting for the Second 
Corps. This order was reiterated by Colonel Lyman, of 
General Meade's staff, in person. Accordingly the division 
advanced at once. A section of artillery from the Second 
Corps, under Captain Ricketts, was planted on the plank 
road, advanced with the lines, and did good service. Enemy 
were found in strong force immediately in front. Their 
lines outflanked the division, and though forced back some 
distance in the centre, they held in the main their ground 
and repulsed every attack. The fighting was very heavy. 
About 5.30 p.m. the enemy charged and forced back our 
line some fifty yards, when they were checked and repulsed. 
On the plank road they got up to, and planted a color at, 
one of the guns of Ricketts' section, which, the horses being 
killed, could not be withdrawn, but were immediately driven 
back, and the gun retaken by a charge of portions of Grant's 
and Wheaton's brigades. It was with the utmost difficulty 
and only by the most stubborn fighting and tenacity that 
the division could hold its ground, outnumbered and out- 
flanked as they were by the whole corps of A. P. Hill. But 
the Second Corps, at length getting into position, advanced 
on the left and to a great extent relieved the pressure on my 
lines. Very heavy fighting, however, without either gaining 
or losing ground, was kept up until after dark. The division 
was then relieved by troops from the Second Corps and 
withdrawn from the front lines. 

General Meade, in his official report (O. R., xxxvi., 
pt. 1, p. 189), says: 

One division (Getty's) of the Sixth was sent to the Orange 
Plank Road, where the Brock road intersects it, to hold this 
crossing at all hazards till the arrival of the Second Corps, 
ordered up from Todd's Tavern. About noon Major- 
General Warren had gotten into position on the pike and 



The Wilderness 145 

attacked vigorously with the divisions of Griffin and Wads- 
worth. This attack was at first quite successful, Griffin 
driving the enemy (Ewell's corps) some distance back on 
the pike, but, as, owing to the dense thicket and want of 
roads, the Sixth Corps had not been able to get into position, 
Griffin's flank was exposed as he advanced, which the enemy 
taking advantage of, Griffin was compelled partially to 
withdraw, having to abandon two pieces of artillery. 
Wadsworth was also driven back. In the meantime Craw- 
ford's division, which had the advance in the morning, was 
withdrawn to the right towards the pike and was formed on 
the left of Wadsworth, one brigade advancing with Wads- 
worth. When Wadsworth was compelled to retire Craw- 
ford was for a time isolated, but was drawn in, not, however, 
without the loss of many prisoners. Getty, on arriving on 
the Orange Plank Road, found our cavalry being driven in 
by Hill's corps, and had just time to deploy on each side of 
the road, delivering a volley into the advancing enemy, 
which checked his progress until the arrival of the head of 
Hancock's column at about 2 p.m. So soon as Hancock 
arrived he was directed to attack with Getty, which was 
done at first successfully, the enemy, however, offering 
stubborn resistance. Mott's division, Second Corps, gave 
way, when Brig.-Gen. Alexander Hays, in going to repair the 
break in the line, was shot dead while gallantly leading his 
command in the thickest of the fight. The enemy's col- 
umns being seen moving over to the Orange Plank Road, 
Wadsworth's division and Baxter's brigade of the Fifth 
Corps were sent in that direction to take position and attack 
in conjunction with Hancock. They did not arrive, how- 
ever, in time before dark to do more than drive in the 
enemy's skirmishers and confront him. Toward evening 
the Sixth Corps made its way through the dense thicket 
and formed connection with the Fifth, but nothing decisive 
was accomplished by either corps. 

That night of May 5th we slept in the woods in a 



146 Recollections of the Civil War 

thickly wooded ravine a short distance in front of the 
place that we had occupied for a line of battle during 
the afternoon. Colonel Edwards was very uneasy 
because we were on the right of the line occupied by our 
division, and we had not as yet found out the position 
of the Fifth Corps ; he directed me to take a file of five 
men, and find out the location of the Sixth Corps in its 
relation to the Fifth Corps and report at once, so that 
the regular picket lines could be established, covering 
our whole front. 

I selected Sergeant Graves of Company F, who was 
an experienced backwoodsman and surveyor, to go with 
me, and with four others, we slowly and carefully felt 
our way through the woods until we came in contact 
with the Fifth Corps encampments. We then went 
back and made our report to Colonel Edwards, and 
pickets were established connecting our lines with 
theirs. Fortunately we did not run into the enemy's 
line, and owing largely to Sergeant Graves's experience 
as a woodsman, we were entirely successful in accom- 
plishing what we had undertaken. Sergeant Graves 
was killed the next day. A braver soldier or a truer 
patriot than he was did not exist. He left his home 
and family to serve his country, and at a good deal of 
sacrifice to his own personal interests. He was a man 
of education and culture, and he gave it all to his 
country. I suppose that I was selected to establish 
this connection between the Fifth Corps and our 
division because of the fact that I had achieved some 
reputation of keeping watch of our movements and cal- 
culating where we were. I always carried a compass, 
and always had good maps, and by watching the direc- 
tion of our various marches with my compass, and 
marking them out upon the maps, I could generally 



The Wilderness 147 

tell with tolerable accuracy where we were at any given 
time. 

The next morning, May 6th, we arose at four and 
breakfasted and were ready to move by half -past five. 
As we had held the advance on the previous day, we 
were placed in the second line of battle, and the Second 
Corps were in front of us. Our business was to follow 
the advance and be ready to take our place in the first 
line of battle, if at any time the first line needed as- 
sistance or support. During the next two hours our 
progress was steady and sometimes rapid. We drove 
the enemy before us for a distance of a mile and a half 
and everything seemed favorable to a complete success 
on our part, when suddenly the first line of battle gave 
way and came rushing to the rear. We lay down and 
let the line pass over us and then arose and poured 
volley after volley into the woods in our front. We 
could not see the foe. They were hidden in the thickets 
and behind the trees. A short distance to our left we 
saw General Wadsworth rally his division of the Fifth 
Corps, and meet his death in the same blind passages 
of the forest. At the same time we saw the Fifty- 
seventh Massachusetts, with their intrepid leader, 
Colonel W. F. Bartlett, at their head, throw off their 
knapsacks and charge rapidly into the woods on our 
left. General Wadsworth had called on one or two 
regiments, not of his division, the Thirty-seventh being 
one, and the Twentieth Massachusetts another, to go 
forward with him and his division and try to check the 
Rebel advance upon our left flank. General Wads- 
worth afterwards personally thanked Colonel Edwards 
for his efficient support. But in rendering this assist- 
ance, the Thirty-seventh got separated from the 
rest of Eustis's brigade, and when Wadsworth fell, we 



148 Recollections of the Civil War 

were deserted by his division, which fled in great dis- 
order. 

Our losses were heavy. In a very short time some- 
thing like 134 officers and men from our regiment were 
numbered among the killed and wounded, and we could 
scarcely see where the bullets came from or where the 
foe was hidden. In a very short time the firing ceased, 
but the enemy's advance was checked and our regiment 
was alone, unsupported. The balance of Getty's divi- 
sion seemed to have retreated with the Second Corps. 
The only Federal troops in our immediate vicinity 
were a brigade belonging to the Second Corps, com- 
manded by General Joshua T. Owen. As the firing in 
our front seemed to have ceased for the time, General 
Owen and Colonel Edwards held a consultation and 
decided that they did not want to withdraw from their 
advanced position without orders, and as General 
Owen was the ranking officer and had lost his entire 
staff, I was detailed at his request to act as his staff offi- 
cer, and directed to go back through the woods to the 
headquarters of the Second Corps and report the posi- 
tion of these two commanders and ask for instructions. 

I had a long and tedious ramble, but after wandering 
back through the woods a mile and a half, I finally 
succeeded in finding the headquarters of the Second 
Corps, and reported to General Hancock the situation 
of General Owen's brigade and of Colonel Edwards's 
regiment. I met there my friend Colonel Walker. 
As I was on foot, he immediately dismounted an orderly 
and gave me his horse, and sent me to report to General 
Birney, because General Owen belonged to his division. 
I got to General Birney's headquarters, and made my 
report, and Birney immediately detailed one of his staff 
officers to go with me and bring out General Owen's 



The Wilderness 149 

brigade and the Thirty-seventh, and place them in 
their appointed position with the rest of the corps. 

I started back with General Birney's staff officer, but 
before we had gone a great way, the bullets were so 
thick that we decided it was safer for us to leave our 
horses in charge of an orderly and go on foot to the 
position where the regiment was. One of Berdan's 
sharpshooters who was lost in the woods joined us here, 
and we picked up guns and acted as skirmishers ad- 
vancing through the woods. I finally got to the place 
where I had left the regiment, but there was no regiment 
there, and after a consultation with General Birney's 
staff officer, we concluded to proceed a little farther to 
the right where we could hear firing, thinking that pos- 
sibly the brigades for which we were searching might 
be there. We had only gone a short distance through 
the woods when we came upon the Rebel skirmish line 
advancing, who shouted at us to throw down our arms 
and surrender. I was a few feet farther to the right 
and immediately turned on my heel and sprang through 
the woods at a very rapid pace, losing my hat at the 
first jump, and escaping without further injury than a 
stiffened finger joint, caused by a musket ball which 
grazed my hand. 

In July, 1865, after my return from the war, I picked 
up a copy of Harper's Magazine for that month, and 
my eye fell upon an article entitled "Eleven Months in 
a Rebel Prison," and upon reading it I found that it 
told the story of my unfortunate comrade, and his sub- 
sequent imprisonment. He took the chances of cap- 
ture and prison: I preferred those of escape. 

I ran until I was out of breath, and finally found that 
General Owen and Colonel Edwards had concluded not 
to wait for my return, but after a short stay, during 



150 Recollections of the Civil War 

which they noticed a movement to surround them, they 
had returned to the line on the Brock Road, where the 
rest of the corps were already building earthworks and 
preparing for their last stand in the battle of the Wilder- 
ness. My return, hatless and somewhat dishevelled, 
to my regiment produced quite an excitement. They 
thought me captured or dead. * 

1 Colonel Edwards, in his memoir entitled "My Recollections of the 
Civil War" (manuscript, page 74), writes of these experiences: 

"The Thirty-seventh in pursuance to General Wadsworth's orders 
charged to the rear until we had extricated ourselves from the embrace 
of the enemy, when we marched to the point where he had left the 
brigade. 

' ' Though the history of modern war cannot show a more heroic charge, 
though color bearers fell dead and men dropped like dead forest leaves, 
though the charge was so determined that it was difficult to save the 
regiment, so reluctant were they to retreat, — yet it was only an episode 
of the three terrible days' struggle in the Wilderness, and it has never 
been duly chronicled save by Bowen in his masterly history of the war, 
entitled History of the Thirty-seventh Regiment Massachusetts Volun- 
teers. The enemy out of respect to the dead hero sent his body into our 
lines under a flag of truce. 

"After the charge we formed on the left of Owen's brigade, our left 
connecting with Mott's division. Owing to the surprise and shock of the 
charge of the Thirty-seventh the enemy did not attack in front of Owen's 
brigade, or of our brigade, and the brigade on our left, but the lines 
farther to our left were broken and Hancock changed front to his rear 
on his left and resumed his position on the Plank Road. This left our 
brigade and Owen's isolated, and the enemy were moving so as to cut us 
entirely off. I urged our brigade commander to move our brigade 
through the woods to join Hancock on the Plank Road, but he seemed 
paralyzed and asked me to command the brigade, which I did, retiring 
the brigade by the right of companies to the rear until the enemy pressed 
too close on our rear, when we reformed and repulsed the enemy. Owen 
then assumed command by virtue of seniority and asked me if I would 
communicate with General Hancock for orders. Captain Mason Tyler 
— always ready for heroic service — volunteered for this hazardous duty, 
and though the enemy were between us and Hancock, Captain Tyler 
reported to General Hancock, who ordered us to report at once to him 
on the Plank Road. General Hancock mounted Captain Tyler and also 
sent one of his staff with him. On their wav to us Hancock's aid was 



The Wilderness 151 

In the latter part of the afternoon, after due prepa- 
rations had been made by the Federals to receive them, 
the Confederates came sweeping through the woods like 
a whirlwind. They captured a small part of our line, 
but were unable to hold it, and they were driven back 
with heavy loss. 

Colonel Fox, in his Regimental Losses, p. 115, 
says: "The heaviest loss sustained by any division in 
any one battle, occurred in Getty's (2d) Division, Sixth 
Corps, at the Wilderness, where that division lost 480 
killed, 2318 wounded, and 196 missing; total of 2994 
men." 

General Getty, in his report quoted above, describes 
the part taken by our division in the battle of the 6th 
of May, in the following language (O. R., xxxvi., part 1, 
page 677) : 

At 6 a.m., May 6th, the Second Corps attacked. This 
division formed in two lines on both sides of the Plank Road, 
Eustis on the right, Wheaton in the centre, crossing the 
Plank Road, and Grant on the left, advanced in support to 
Birney's division, Second Corps. The enemy were again 
encountered immediately in front, but after a short struggle 
were forced back. The troops pushed forward with re- 
newed vigor. The enemy lost ground rapidly, and hun- 
dreds of prisoners came pouring in. A mile and a half in 
advance of the crossroads, Wadsworth's division, of the 
Fifth Corps, came sweeping in from the right, driving 
the enemy in great confusion and forming a junction with 
the troops which had advanced on the Orange Court-House 
Plank Road. All pressed on after the almost routed army. 
Having advanced three fourths of a mile farther a heavy 

captured and Tyler, ordered to surrender, charged through the enemy 
and reported to me. The two brigades then moved in line towards the 
Plank Road. The enemy gave way before us and we reported to Han- 
cock without further loss." 



152 Recollections of the Civil War 

artillery fire was encountered from batteries on the left of 
the road, but masked by thick shrubs and pines. In com- 
pliance with orders from Major-General Birney, the divi- 
sion was moved wholly to the left of the Plank Road, but 
soon after, perceiving that there were but few troops on the 
right of the road, and that the enemy threatened to attack 
from that quarter, I moved Wheaton's and Eustis's brigades 
back to the right of the road. All this time we were steadily 
advancing, driving the enemy in some disorder, and cap- 
turing many prisoners, and had reached the point within 
half a mile of Parker's Store. 

The threatened attack on the right now burst with great 
fury, the lines in front gave way, Wheaton and Eustis 
stepped into the gap, and by hard fighting held the enemy. 
Soon the extreme left was forced back. The enemy, it 
appeared, had brought up all of Longstreet's corps, and 
before the onset of these fresh troops, our men, fatigued 
and disordered by their long advance in line of battle 
through the dense and almost impenetrable thicket which 
covers all this tract, gave ground. This division was soon 
in the front line, but being outflanked by the breaking of 
the troops on the left, were forced back with the rest. Here 
I received a severe wound through the shoulder, and was 
compelled to leave the field, turning over the command of 
the division to Brig.-Gen. Frank Wheaton, the senior 
brigade commander present, Brigadier-General Neill, with 
his brigade, having been detached. . . . After a severe con- 
test of some ten hours' duration our troops were forced back 
to their original position at the crossroads. The division, 
throughout all this fighting and falling back, held well 
together. Not a single regiment or organization was 
broken up. The brigade reoccupied nearly their original 
positions. Breastworks were hastily thrown up, and pre- 
parations made to resist the enemy's farther advance. At 
4 p.m. he attacked, and made the most desperate efforts 
to break our lines, but was handsomely repulsed, and after 
a struggle of half an hour withdrew, leaving the ground in 



The Wilderness 153 

front of our lines covered with the dead and wounded. Late 
in the evening the First and Fourth Brigades rejoined the 
corps, on the right of the army. ... In wresting the pos- 
session of the crossing of the Orange Court-House and 
Brock Roads from Hill's corps, when already occupied by 
his skirmishers, it is not claiming too much to say, that the 
Second Division saved the army from disastrous defeat, 
for that point was of vital importance to us, and its falling 
into the hands of the enemy would have cut our army in 
two, separating the Second Corps from the Fifth and Sixth, 
and would have exposed to capture the Artillery Reserve, 
then moving up from Chancellorsville, on the Orange Plank 
Road. Throughout the terrible struggle that ensued, this 
division held the key-point of the battle-field — the Plank 
Road. Their losses, all from killed and wounded, and few 
or none, prisoners, show how tenaciously they fought. 

In General Meade's report of the battle of the 6th 
of May, occurs the following (O. R., xxxvi., part 1, p. 
190): 

On the 6th, the attacks were made as ordered, but with- 
out any particular success on the part of either the Fifth 
or Sixth Corps. On the plank road the attack of Wads- 
worth's and Getty's divisions and Hancock's corps was 
quite successful, and the enemy was driven up the road in 
confusion and disorder for more than a mile, when, Long- 
street's corps coming up, the tide of battle was turned, and 
our victorious line was forced back to its former position on 
the Brock Road, the gallant Wadsworth falling mortally 
wounded while exerting himself to rally the retiring col- 
umns. The brave Getty was also severely wounded early 
in the action, though refusing for some time to leave the 
field. 

The cause of Hancock's retreat in the morning was 



154 Recollections of the Civil War 

the arrival of Longstreet and his corps, after an all-night 
march from Gordonsville, and his sudden appearance 
through the leafy foliage of the forest, by an abandoned 
railroad cut in Hancock's rear. It was like an army of 
ghosts rising out of the earth. Such an apparition will 
unsettle the stoutest nerves. 

The Second Corps was at this time the best seasoned 
and least likely to be panic-stricken of any corps in the 
Army of the Potomac, yet at the cry that Longstreet 
was in the brush on their flank, they ran to the rear like 
sheep, and to the best of my belief, they did not stop 
until they had reached the position on the Brock Road 
from which they had started in the morning. There 
they could see something, there they could move with- 
out being tangled in briars, there they had solid ground 
to stand on and could fight, and when the Rebels got 
there they found the Federals were not to be driven 
out, and in particular did not mean to be driven into 
the woods. 

In going into the details of the panicky behavior of 
our comrades of the Second and Fifth Corps, I do not 
mean to claim any special exemption from the same 
influences producing in the Thirty-seventh the same 
results under like conditions, although I do claim that 
the Thirty-seventh was composed of men of unusual 
intelligence and was especially well disciplined for a 
volunteer regiment. I only remember one instance of 
their career as soldiers when they manifested any dis- 
position to yield to a panic-stricken fear. That was on 
the afternoon of May 6th, when General Longstreet's 
corps moved forward to attack the Second Corps and 
Getty's division in the works which they had erected on 
the Brock Road, after being driven back from the 
morning's advance. 



The Wilderness 155 

That afternoon's attack was preceded by a sudden, 
tremulous rustling of the leaves and boughs in the 
woods on the front, long before the enemy could be 
seen, which sounded like a mighty rushing wind, and I 
presume it was magnified by the condition of our nerves, 
and for the instant every man in the ranks behind the 
breastworks seized his gun and started for the rear, and 
only by the most strenuous exertions on the part of the 
officers was a rout prevented. It extended to the regi- 
ments on our right and left, and I presume was more or 
less continuous through the whole line, but in our case 
was stopped before the regiment had gone thirty feet to 
the rear of the works. The men were prevailed upon 
to let reason resume its sway and to return to their 
places behind the earthworks, and when the attack cul- 
minated they fought like heroes. In addition I may 
justly claim that the Sixth Corps was hardly ever in its 
entire history stampeded, nor did it yield to the terror of 
panic. The only instance which I can remember where 
it came very near to being panic-stricken was at Cedar 
Creek, where it was surprised by General Early and 
driven back some distance from its camp before it was 
able to rally, but it was never then beyond the control 
of its officers as were the soldiers of the Nineteenth and 
Eighth Corps on the same occasion. 

Two or three of the brigades that belonged to the 
Sixth Corps came very near being routed on the evening 
of that same 6th of May, 1864, when General Gordon 
and General Johnston, with their brigades, surprised 
the brigades of General Shaler and General Seymour 
on the extreme right of the Sixth Corps and of the Army 
of the Potomac, just as the shades of evening were 
gathering, and captured the two brigadiers, and for 
the time succeeded in stampeding the brigades. The 



156 Recollections of the Civil War 

stampede was, however, completely checked and con- 
trolled by the commanding presence and restraint 
exercised by General Sedgwick and General Wright, 
who promptly succeeded in stopping the rout and in 
restoring order in the corps. 

On that very day, in the afternoon, Mott's division 
of the Second Corps had manifested a most unaccount- 
able fright and refusal to be controlled, which is thus 
described by Colonel Swan in his account of the battle 
of the Wilderness (The Wilderness Campaign, Mili- 
tary Historical Society of Massachusetts, vol. iv., 
page 142) : 

Till near night our troops as a general thing did all that 
could be expected of them, maintaining their advanced 
ground when they found they could do no more, although 
they knew of their substantial breastworks just in the rear. 
Then for some unaccountable reason Mott's division gave 
way. Colonel McAllister, who afterwards commanded the 
1st brigade of that division, says "that to his great astonish- 
ment the line began to give way on the left. It is said first 
the Excelsior brigade, then my left regiment, the 1st Massa- 
chusetts, and regiment after regiment, like a rolling wave, 
fell back, and all efforts to rally them were in vain." "To 
assign a cause for it," he goes on to say, "would be impos- 
sible, unless it was from the fact that a large number of the 
troops were about to leave the service. I think this had 
much to do with it." 

But here let me observe that in all this wood fighting 
our troops seem to have been greatly alarmed whenever 
the noise of a contest to the right or the left told them that 
there was fighting in the rear of a prolongation of their own 
line. Such noises seem to have caused more disturbance 
than a foe directly in front. And I think it was the same 
with the enemy's troops. However, the enemy at this 
time was not aware of our confusion. 



The Wilderness 157 

It will be noticed that the instances here cited of 
panics are for the most part taken from experiences in 
the Wilderness, and the panic of the Eleventh and 
Twelfth Corps at Chancellorsville is another instance 
of the same kind, and due to similar causes. One of 
those causes is the tendency of the human mind to 
magnify dangers that cannot be seen or measured by 
human senses. If you can see a danger and actually 
apply the human reason to it you will be satisfied to use 
the best means and methods that your mind can suggest 
to meet the emergency, but if you cannot see it and you 
cannot reason about it, your only recourse is to run 
away from it, and where a crowd is involved it means a 
race for life. 

The Confederate army had this advantage over the 
Northern army in dealing with such a situation. They 
were at home in their own country, and very large 
numbers of them knew every byway and path in the 
Wilderness, to say nothing of its roads, and knew just 
where to hide, and where to force the fight, and we 
were more or less subject to their control on account of 
this knowledge. It was this that made General Lee so 
confident that, if he could hold General Grant in the 
Wilderness, he could double the strength of his own 
army. 

The writer whom I have quoted above further says, 
in reference to that part of the battle of the Wilderness 
which was fought upon the Brock Road (page 144) : 

There are but one or two square miles upon this continent 
that have been more saturated with blood than was the 
square mile which lay in front of the Brock Road, and had 
the Orange Plank Road as a central avenue, in the two 
days of the Battle of the Wilderness. And this bloody field 



158 Recollections of the Civil War 

differs much from those which have been its rivals as scenes 
of slaughter. Within a very limited compass in other 
battles thousands have fallen by the fire generally of artil- 
lery, not less than of infantry, as they pressed forward to 
take some fortified line; and the line once reached, the car- 
nage has been awful. But here, although both parties had 
breastworks, the fighting was far from being confined to 
those breastworks. Nearly every square yard had its fill 
of blood, and on nearly every square yard was Northern and 
Southern blood intermingled. 

And although the battle was fought with the hot sun of 
the month of May in Virginia glaring overhead, it was, 
as it were, fought in the night. Excepting the roads, 
the dense wood rendered it impossible for any soldier to 
see what was going on three rods from where he stood. 

There was more at stake in the battle of the Wilder- 
ness than in any other 'battle between the Northern 
and Southern armies in the War of the Rebellion, with 
perhaps the single exception of the battle of Gettysburg. 
The Army of the Potomac had never won a deci- 
sive victory on Southern soil. McDowell, McClellan, 
Burnside, and Hooker in succession, and in each in- 
stance commanding a larger army with superior equip- 
ment, suffered humiliation and defeat from Southern 
generals commanding a ragged and half -starved army 
on Southern soil. The Army of Northern Virginia 
felt that under the leadership of Lee, backed by 
Longstreet, Stuart, and Hill, there was no Southern 
position they could not successfully defend, and no 
Northern army they could not defeat. They had im- 
plicit confidence in their leaders, and in fact, they 
had reason for their faith. Against great odds they 
had achieved victory after victory, and hardly tasted 
defeat. 



The Wilderness 159 

On the other hand, the Army of the Potomac had 
suffered a long series of reverses, and were much dis- 
couraged by repeated defeats. In their whole career 
they had hardly tasted the joy of victory. Their lead- 
ers had disappointed them, and uselessly wasted their 
life blood and their vital energies. General Grant had 
achieved signal victories in the West. The national 
government in its straits now assigned to him the task 
of redeeming the reputation' of the Army of the Potomac. 
It was a battle on Southern soil between Lee, with his 
skilled lieutenants and triumphant army on the one 
side, and Grant with the much larger Army of the 
Potomac, disheartened by repeated defeat, on the other 
side. The stake was the continuance of the United 
States as one nation if Grant won, or its division into 
two nations if Lee won. Gettysburg had marked the 
turn in the tide of the war in favor of the United States. 
Now Lee and his generals were going to make the 
supreme effort of their lives in an attempt to stop 
the flow of that tide southward and drive it back to 
the Potomac. They believed they could do it ; and the 
North was so tired of the war, with enlistments stopped, 
the draft a failure, and the party of Peace-at-any-price 
constantly increasing, that in their dreams of success, 
the established and recognized Southern Confederacy 
loomed into sight behind the clouds. If they had suc- 
ceeded in the Wilderness I cannot say that it would have 
ended as they anticipated, but it would have given the 
Union cause a terrible setback, and no man can say 
what might have resulted. The battle of the Wilder- 
ness was fought to a standstill on that square mile 
where the Brock and the Orange Plank Roads join. 

The Thirty-seventh was for two days in the very 
thick of that fight. It never faltered. When lines of 



160 Recollections of the Civil War 

battle were rushing wildly over them to the rear, they 
opened to let them pass, and then closed their ranks and 
moved forward against the foe, and stopped the advance. 
Amidst general disorder and wild dismay they stood 
or marched in solid ranks and obeyed orders as if they 
were on parade. That was the character of the regi- 
ment. They were soldiers drilled to act as a unit, and 
to obey, and if Colonel Edwards had ordered them to 
stand their ground at the farthest point of their advance 
on the Orange Plank Road, I believe they would have 
fired their last cartridge and sacrificed their last man. 



CHAPTER X 
THE SIXTH CORPS AT SPOTTSYLVANIA 

MAY 7 TO 20, I864 

AFTER the terrible experiences of the last two days, 
we were tired enough to sleep, but no such good 
fortune awaited us. The Sixth Corps met with a 
serious loss early in the evening through the capture of 
two of its brigadiers and several hundred officers and 
men, and General Sedgwick demanded the return of the 
five brigades of his command which had been detached 
for duty at different points in the battlefield of the 
Wilderness. Three of these brigades under Getty were 
on the Brock Road. After Longstreet's last repulse we 
tried to secure a little rest behind the earthworks, but it 
was with guns in our hands, and almost in line of battle. 

At ten p.m., May 6th, orders came returning us to 
the Sixth Corps. It was a dark night, and we stumbled 
along through the woods, dodging camps, corrals for 
horses, teams, and the camp followers, who are always 
in the rear of every army, and a little after midnight 
concluded we had better wait for the dawn rather than 
take chances of losing our way. So we dropped down 
in the woods where we were. We were up with the dawn, 
and by four o'clock had reached the place in the Sixth 
Corps assigned to us on the extreme right of the line. 

At the place where we halted ? the country was slightly 
11 161 



162 Recollections of the Civil War 

elevated above the surrounding woods, but the woods 
were so dense and the trees so large, that the elevation 
was of little assistance in enabling us to see our environ- 
ment. Everything in our front was so quiet that it 
gave rise to the report that the enemy had retreated in 
the night, but upon our attempt to advance our skirmish 
line, the Rebels were developed in force. We hardly 
had time to get breakfast before our regiment was sent 
to the right centre of the Sixth Corps to support a 
battery. It was posted on a hill, but the outlook was 
very limited in extent. However, they did not allow 
us to remain here long. 

At two p.m., we returned to our position on the right 
and devoted ourselves to the delightful but arduous 
occupation of erecting earthworks; by night we had 
some fine ones, but we were then told that the army 
would move soon after dark. At ten p.m. we were or- 
dered into line, and Spottsylvania was our goal. Lee 
and his army were still in our front; we had failed in 
our endeavor to drive them out of our way, now we 
were trying the efficiency of a flank movement. 

Spottsylvania was fifteen miles distant in a south- 
easterly direction from where we were. Our orders, 
therefore, contemplated an oblique movement south- 
east and around the right flank of the hostile army. 
The transportation trains (supplies, hospital stores, 
equipment and ammunition) were started in the after- 
noon and sent in advance. The Fifth Corps was di- 
rected to go by the Brock Road, from which the enemy 
had apparently withdrawn their forces after the terrific 
fighting of the 5th and 6th instant, march to Todd's 
Tavern, and if practicable, proceed and occupy Spott- 
sylvania Court-House. x They were to be followed by 

1 See War Map 81 (1). 



The Sixth Corps at Spottsylvania 163 

the Second Corps by the same route. The Sixth and 
the Ninth Corps were to care for the trains and go by 
way of Chancellorsville, Aldrich's and Piney Branch 
Church, and the Sixth was to rendezvous with the 
Fifth Corps at or near Alsop's, northwest from the 
Court-House. 

It was a night of sweltering heat. No rain had fallen 
for several days, and the many wheels and feet of horses 
and men pounded the dry soil into impalpable dust, 
which rose hundreds of feet into the air, and notified 
General Lee that our trains were under way in the after- 
noon, and of the direction of our movement. He 
immediately sent his cavalry to obstruct our progress 
over the Brock Road, and Longstreet's corps by a cross- 
road, to get in front of us and preoccupy the Court- 
House. 

Both armies were badly fagged from want of sleep. 
The choking dust and the heat greatly aggravated their 
exhaustion. The Rebel army had this advantage, they 
were on their own soil, fighting for their homes, and 
were inspired with an almost superhuman energy, while 
our army, although they fully believed in the right- 
eousness of their cause, were conscious that they were 
invaders, and had met with repeated defeats in all their 
previous attempts at invasion. Even the iron will of 
Grant could not overcome the influence of this fact. 
The result was that the Rebel cavalry succeeded in 
delaying our Fifth Corps, and Longstreet's corps got 
between our army and Spottsylvania Court-House, 
although they started a little later and had to march a 
little farther than our advance corps. 

We of the Sixth Corps had a much longer distance 
to go, and the trains delayed us. Through the long 
watches of the night we shuffled a few feet at a time, 



164 Recollections of the Civil War 

being choked with dust, stifled by the heat, and weary 
from lack of sleep. With the dawn (of the 8th), we 
halted at Chancellors ville for breakfast. Here we left 
the trains in charge of the Ninth Corps, and after a 
brief rest pushed on until three o'clock in the afternoon, 
when we joined the Fifth Corps near Alsop's. 

Meanwhile, the last named corps had pushed forward, 
and two of its divisions had a fierce fight with Long- 
street's corps, but failed in their attempt to reach the 
Court-House, and were driven back a mile or more, 
meeting the Sixth Corps at Alsop's. 

General Sedgwick now took command of the field at 
this point, and towards evening made an attempt with 
the First and Second Divisions of the Sixth Corps and 
Crawford's division, the Pennsylvania Reserves of the 
Fifth Corps, to clear the obstructions in our front. 
Our lines were advanced from half to three quarters of 
a mile, and the enemy developed in such strong force 
that, owing to the approach of darkness, and the weari- 
ness of his men, he concluded it best not to force the 
fight, and withdrew his attacking lines a short distance. 
We lay down on our arms and passed the night (of May 
8th). 

During the night, Lee's entire army arrived and were 
arranged in a line of battle curving towards the north 
on the easterly side of the Brock Road so as to occupy 
a ridge of high land commanding the valley of the Ny, 
and facing north and east. This formed the famous 
Salient of Spottsylvania. The line, after curving 
towards the north, was bent until it ran towards the 
west, and again towards the south, crossing the Fred- 
ericksburg road a short distance north of the Court- 
House. It was half a mile across the Salient from east 
to west, and a mile in depth from its northernmost point 



The Sixth Corps at Spottsylvania 165 

or apex to the line drawn across its base in extension of 
Lee's main line of defences. 

This entire line of the enemy ran through the woods, 
with here and there an opening, but for the most part 
was hidden from view, except as our columns of attack, 
driving in the enemy's pickets, discovered a continuous 
heavily fortified line of breastworks, bristling here and 
there with cannon, and crowned with log protections 
for their heads and with loopholes underneath the 
logs for their guns, while in front a network of abatis and 
slashings tangled and delayed their assailants, and in 
many instances consigned them to a merciless doom. 
West of the Brock Road the enemy's line fronted on the 
River Po, and did not require such heavy defensive 
works. The Po, with its marshy and thicket-covered 
borderlands, was a sufficient protection against an 
attack. 

In front of the line during May 9th, and at distances 
varying at different points from half a mile to a mile, 
was deployed the Army of the Potomac with its Second 
Corps at the right of its line ; the Fifth Corps continuing 
the line to the Brock Road on its westerly side about a 
mile south of Alsop's; and the Sixth Corps continuing 
the line from the Brock Road in a northeasterly direc- 
tion to a point in the woods three quarters of a mile 
northwesterly from the apex of the Salient. As I 
remember it, the Sixth Corps line on that day was 
mostly in the woods, and there was hardly a point on 
that line where the enemy's line of fortifications could 
be seen. Possibly some parts of it were visible from 
the Brock Road. 

The point on that road where the Fifth and Sixth 
Corps lines joined, is a historic spot. It was there 
that General Sedgwick was killed at 9.30 o'clock of 



166 Recollections of the Civil War 

this very morning of May 9th by the bullet of a sharp- 
shooter fired from a distant tree. He was engaged in 
locating a battery when he was shot, and the bullet 
struck him under the eye, causing instant death. His 
death was a serious loss to the Sixth Corps, and to the 
Army of the Potomac. He was one of those solid men 
that everybody respected. His superior officers and 
associates leaned upon him; his subordinates had im- 
plicit confidence in him; his soldiers loved him. He 
was "Uncle John" to them. No one ever charged him 
with disloyalty to his commander; he was modest and 
unselfish. He was repeatedly asked to accept the 
command of the Army of the Potomac, but he always 
declined the honor. He exposed himself recklessly 
if the occasion required it, but when it came to the 
lives and the health of his men, he would not waste 
them, and he was always solicitous for their welfare, 
both on the march and in the camp. The day of his 
death was. the saddest day the Sixth Corps ever knew, 
and the other corps recognized that the Army of the 
Potomac had lost a model soldier and corps commander. 
To clear the woods as far as possible of sharpshooters 
in the trees, our artillery opened fire for a couple of 
hours, and vigorously shelled the woods all along the 
line. The shrieking of the shells, the crashing and 
tearing of the trees and limbs in the forest made a 
terrific noise. The cannonading seemed to me louder 
and heavier than that at Gettysburg. Meanwhile, 
during the day, we were fortifying and building earth- 
works of a formidable character for our protection. 

General Wright of our First Division succeeded to 
the command of the Sixth Corps, and General David 
A. Russell (of the Third Brigade, First Division) was 
promoted to the command of the First Division in 



The Sixth Corps at Spottsylvania 167 

General Wright's place. General Eustis was trans- 
ferred and placed in command of the brigade lately 
commanded by General Russell, and Colonel Edwards 
was promoted to the command of our brigade, and 
Lieutenant-Colonel Montague to the command of the 
Thirty-seventh. x 

Late in the afternoon, the Second Corps crossed the 
Po. The movement began with an attempt by Bar- 
low's division to capture a wagon train, and developed 
into a flank attack by three divisions of the Second 
Corps. They spent the night on the south side of the 
Po, and in the morning of the 10th made such encour- 
aging progress that they thought it might open the way 
to Spottsylvania Court-House. 

Just then Hancock was ordered by Meade to recross 
the Po with two of his divisions, and with the Fifth 
Corps take charge of an assault to be made in front of 
the Fifth Corps line on the enemy's works. This 
assault failed, but in the meantime Hancock was 
obliged to return to the rescue of Barlow's division, 
which he had left south of the Po when he obeyed Gen- 
eral Meade's order, and which, when deserted by the 
other two divisions, had been assailed by the force 
that Lee sent to drive back the Second Corps. This 
accomplished, at seven o'clock in the evening, he 
renewed his assault with the Fifth Corps, but accom- 
plished nothing. 

On that same day the Sixth Corps, under orders from 
army headquarters, had explored the enemy's fortified 
line in their front, so far as they were able to do so, and 
General Russell and Colonel Upton reported that they 
had found a place in the west face of the Salient opposite 
their front which they believed could be successfully 

' See note at p. 142 above. 



1 68 Recollections of the Civil War 

assailed. With the approval of army headquarters, 
General Wright had directed Generals Russell and 
Upton to select twelve regiments from the whole Sixth 
Corps for the assaulting column, to be led by Upton, 
and to be supported by General Mott's (Fourth) 
Division of the Second Corps, temporarily assigned to 
the Sixth Corps, and under General Wright's command. 
Colonel Upton selected three regiments from his own 
Second Brigade of the First Division, four regiments 
from the Third Brigade, First Division (this was 
Hancock's original brigade, and recently was com- 
manded by Russell, and particularly distinguished 
itself at Rappahannock Station), three regiments of 
the famous Vermont Second Brigade, Second Division, 
and two regiments of Neill's Third Brigade, Second 
Division. Under cover of the skirmish line, General 
Russell, Colonel Upton, and the several regimental com- 
manders carefully examined the ground and received 
exact instructions as to their respective parts and duties. 
At the appointed hour, 6.10 P.M., Colonel Upton had 
his column formed in four lines under cover of the edge 
of the woods, and on a concerted signal, they marched 
and rushed across the intervening fields, drove in the 
pickets, and in almost solid array went over the forti- 
fications, and after a desperate hand-to-hand fight, 
compelled the surrender of twelve hundred prisoners 
with six pieces of artillery and several stands of colors. 
They also captured an interior line of works which in a 
measure protected them from attack on the west and 
south. They made a breach in the enemy's lines of 
defence nearly a mile long. They held those lines until 
after dark, momentarily expecting the arrival of the 
supporting column under Mott, but for some unac- 
countable reason, it did not come. 



The Sixth Corps at Spottsylvania 169 

I never fully -understood why the other regiments of 
the Sixth Corps in this emergency were not sent to 
Upton's support. I know that the Thirty-seventh and 
our brigade started to go to their relief, although, at 
the time, we did not know of Upton's success or our 
destination, and after proceeding a half-mile or more, 
we were halted and shortly after returned to our start- 
ing point. 

Finally, after three hours of occupation and most 
desperate fighting, Colonel Upton concluded that with- 
out assistance upon failure of ammunition, retreat or 
capture of his force was inevitable, and with General 
Russell's approval he withdrew. If he had been sus- 
tained, the terrible losses of May 12th might have been 
avoided. It was a better planned and better executed 
assault than that of the Second Corps on May 12th, and 
bitter were the reproaches to which both Russell and 
Upton gave utterance when upon Upton's return he 
gained the shelter of the woods. He had most success- 
fully accomplished what he had undertaken, but at a 
heavy sacrifice of life, while those who were to support 
him had left him unaided to work out his own salvation 
and compelled him to surrender all the fruits of his 
achievement. For his gallantry on this occasion, he 
was promoted to the rank of brigadier-general. 

The night of the 10th was one of restless wakefulness. 
We remained in the works with arms close at hand. 
There was desultory firing between the pickets in front 
of the respective lines. Four times during the night 
we were roused by alarms, and stood to arms. Not 
much rest in this; but we were so exhausted that we 
would drop asleep the moment they allowed us to lie 
down. It was an anxious night. 

Wednesday, May nth, was a day of comparative 



170 Recollections of the Civil War 

rest and preparation. General Grant considering that 
the failure of Upton's assault was due to lack of co- 
operation, determined to renew the attempt on a much 
larger scale, and gave his directions accordingly to 
General Meade. The Second Corps was to be brought 
over from the right of the line in the rear of the Fifth 
and Sixth Corps after dark that night to an open space 
around the Brown and Landrum houses north of the 
Salient, * and with the assistance of the Sixth and Ninth 
Corps to attempt the capture of the Salient and the 
decisive defeat of the Rebel army at the dawn of the 
following day. 

The historian of the Twentieth Regiment Massa- 
chusetts Volunteers, George A. Bruce, at page 368 
of his history, says of this order: "These few words of 
command resulted in one of the bloodiest battles in his- 
tory, unique in character, sublime in the heroism dis- 
played by the combatants of either side, which covered 
a small space of earth thicker with dead and wounded 
men than was ever seen on any battle-field in modern 
times." 

It commenced to rain in the middle of the afternoon, 
and by evening it settled down into a storm which 
soaked the earth and drenched the foliage of the forest 
and enveloped the scene with a thick covering of mist 
and fog, which added much to the gloom and distress 
of the occasion. 

General Hancock made such examinations as he 
could of the field of his action and of the works which 
were to be attacked, but he added little to his informa- 
tion in this way, and he was obliged largely to depend 
upon the reports of his guides and of the officers who 
viewed the works at close quarters on the skirmish line 

1 See War Maps 91 (1), 96 (3). 



The Sixth Corps at Spottsylvania 171 

or in connection with Upton's attack. He directed the 
divisions of his corps, that had been given the oppor- 
tunity to rest as far as it was possible during the day, to 
start from their camps under the lead of guides detailed 
for that purpose, in time to report at the Brown house, 
which General Hancock had selected as his headquar- 
ters, by 10 o'clock in the evening or very soon there- 
after. 

It was an awful march through the slimy, muddy soil 
of Virginia, the difficulties of which can only be appre- 
ciated by those who have experienced it under similar 
conditions. But before midnight the three divisions of 
the Second Corps had assembled in the vicinity of the 
Brown house, and were formed into two columns of 
attack, the one under General Barlow, and the other 
under General Birney, the latter supported by Mott's 
division, while Gibbon and his division were held in 
reserve. 

The following graphic account of the assault on the 
1 2th of May is taken from the History of the Twentieth 
Massachusetts Regiment above referred to (page 372) : 

For a long time this great column stood waiting for the 
word to advance. It was the largest body of men ever 
organized on the continent to be launched for a single blow. 
In it were twenty thousand men, — partly in solid mass, and 
partly in line, — five thousand more than Pickett led up 
Cemetery Hill at Gettysburg. Seventy-two regiments, 
representing the youth and manhood of ten States, the 
best that each could furnish, stood arrayed in battle order, 
upholding seventy-two battle-flags that had been borne 
in honor on many a field, and none of which had ever been 
touched by the hands of the enemy. These flags had been 
rent by shot and shell, and now, tattered and torn and wet 
with rain, were drooping around their shafts like the be- 



172 Recollections of the Civil War 

draggled wings of a fowl. For twenty-four hours not one of 
these twenty thousand men had enjoyed a moment of sleep. 
Some of the strongest and bravest in the Twentieth dropped 
to the ground and were unconscious before their bodies 
touched it. Most, however, stood up in the ranks, swaying 
restlessly backward and forward, pulling their feet out of 
the mud and putting them back again, fretful, complaining, 
and ill at ease. From right to left they covered half a mile, 
in places twenty ranks in depth, and nowhere less than 
eight. The exact direction of the Salient from the Brown 
house had been ascertained on the previous day by the use 
of the compass, and the first division was so formed that it 
would strike the projecting point, provided it was able to go 
forward without deviation from the given course. 

A great battle was about to be ushered in without the aid 
of artillery. There was neither drum to beat the charge 
nor bugle to sound the call. None of the accessories that 
usually accompany warlike forces and give to them a pomp 
and circumstance to fill the eye and feed the imagination 
were here. There were no officers on horseback, hurrying 
hither and thither, in front or on either flank, giving life, 
color, and animation to the field with their clattering 
sabres, waving plumes, and brilliant uniforms; neither were 
there any picturesque groups of them in the background. 
Every one was on foot, for all horses were left behind the 
lines. Barlow was in the centre of his massed division, 
while Birney, Mott, and Gibbon were stationed in the 
midst of their troops. So slight was the information given 
to General Barlow of the character of the ground over which 
he was to pass, that he inquired of Colonel Comstock, of 
General Grant's staff, whether or not there was a ravine 
a thousand feet in depth in front; and receiving no satis- 
factory answer, he concluded that he was about to lead a 
forlorn hope and gave his valuables and some messages to 
a friend. 

After a delay of half an hour on account of the fog and 
darkness, at 4.30 the word was given for the movement to 



The Sixth Corps at Spottsylvania 173 

begin. Until the Salient was captured no other command 
was given. The great column became its own commander- 
in-chief, for brigade and division generals being buried in 
the mass, it was impossible for them to give it directions by- 
further orders. Still their presence was felt, for the men 
were conscious that their leaders were with them to share 
every danger. This alone was of no small value. When it 
grew lighter, and one could look around, and objects became 
visible, it was seen that the corps had been marched all night 
through mud and rain for something out of the common 
experience. The Second Corps had never before been 
massed into a solid body to move against the enemy, and 
never in such form as that in which it was now arrayed. 
Great events have a power of self-proclamation; and 
although nothing had been communicated to the troops as 
to what was expected of them, the feeling ran through the 
ranks that they were near to momentous happenings. All 
thought of what had gone before — want of sleep, fatigue, 
untold discomforts — was forgotten, and the manner in 
which the drama was to unfold and close was now the 
question of supreme interest. The warlike spirit was rising 
and became plainly visible. When half a mile out, the 
front line of Birney's division perceived that it was some- 
what behind Barlow's column, and without orders quick- 
ened step and soon came up to a proper alignment. Near 
the Landrum house the enemy's pickets opened fire upon 
the flanking regiment, but without noticing them it passed 
along. As the woods on either side became visible, these 
landmarks showed that the true course had been kept, and 
the lines had been well preserved. When the column had 
ascended a low ridge that crossed its path, the Salient burst 
into view, with frowning forts and connecting rifle-pits, 
spaced off with traverses rising high above them. Down 
the slope in front was a line of abatis, formed of interlacing 
trees, whose branches had been cut and sharpened at the 
ends, presenting a formidable obstacle. But to men now 
wrought to a high pitch of enthusiasm and animated by a 



174 Recollections of the Civil War 

sudden presentiment of victory, obstacles were not con- 
sidered. 

With loud cheering, the troops rushed forward, broke 
down and burst through the abatis, and in a moment the 
first wave of this human tide swept over the crest and 
dropped down on the farther side of the intrenchments. 
The men had seen much close and hard fighting, but now 
they were in the midst of the enemy and for the first time 
were making quick and sharp use of the bayonet and 
clubbed musket. But these were brave men that they 
sought to conquer, men who would not willingly drop their 
flag. They were the same who had been led by Stonewall 
Jackson; the same who broke through the line at Culp's 
Hill and held their ground for many hours with fierce 
tenacity ; the same who met and held Warren's men in check 
on the 5th of May in the Wilderness. The contest was 
quick, sharp, and decisive. Many were killed and more 
were wounded; but being surrounded on every side by 
determined men, Johnson and his whole division, except 
a few that escaped, surrendered. Twenty guns, thirty flags, 
and four thousand prisoners were the substantial trophies of 
this assault. The Second Corps never had a prouder hour, 
unless it was at Gettysburg, where, holding a defensive 
position, the action was the reverse of this day's triumph. 

There has always been much contention between the 
divisions as to which planted its flag upon the parapet first, 
but the difference in time was so slight that each was 
entitled to share alike in the honor. 

Gibbon had been directed to remain in reserve; but 
either by new orders or a spontaneous impulse (probably 
the latter), the division followed close in the rear of Barlow 
and went over the works with his men. Carroll's and 
Owen's brigades were to the left of Barlow and broke in on 
Stuart's brigade, which was captured entire with its com- 
mander. Webb's brigade marched up into the space 
between Barlow and Birney and shared with the others in 
the capture of Walker's and York's brigades. 



The Sixth Corps at Spottsylvania 175 

A gap in the centre of Lee's army had been made, a mile 
in extent, which gave promise for a time of a complete rout 
and overthrow of his forces. And now became manifest, 
at once, the effect of a condition deemed essential for the 
initiatory success of the movement, which rendered further 
direction difficult and unsuccessful. The hundred or more 
staff officers, who on their fleet horses would have been able 
to carry the necessary instructions quickly over a widely 
extended line, and, with their long experience and high 
intelligence, would have been so powerful a factor in bring- 
ing the troops into order, and arranging them for a further 
effective advance, were all afoot. Here in a small space in 
front of the captured works were twenty thousand men 
(less the killed, wounded, and a few stragglers) , disordered 
somewhat by the march, more by the assault, now carried 
away by a sudden victory of unlooked-for proportions and 
thrown into confusion that required the promptest action 
to disentangle and reduce to an ordered array. The en- 
thusiasm of a broken line resulting from a victory is only a 
little more efficient than the despondency of one broken 
by defeat. The officers commanding the divisions were 
capable men and knew what the situation demanded, but 
they were almost powerless. There was no one to carry 
their orders quickly or assist much in executing them. At 
such times as well as during a flight, one might well offer a 
kingdom for a horse, for he that is thus borne carries with 
him a dignity and authority that commands respect and 
wins obedience to his voice. The most potent and effective 
arm of the service being thus paralyzed or nearly so, the 
great corps, which we have seen acting as its own com- 
mander-in-chief during the assault, continued to follow its 
own impulse, which carried it forward in tumultuous pur- 
suit of the enemy. Forward into the brush and woods 
the men went, and meeting part of Gordon's reserve divi- 
sion at the McCool house, they put Johnson's brigade to 
flight and followed on until the fortified line at the base of 
the Salient was reached. Here were two fresh brigades and 



176 Recollections of the Civil War 

the rallied troops of Johnson. It would have been impos- 
sible for the disorganized pursuing force to carry it, and such 
an action was not attempted. 

During this hour, so critical to the Army of Northern 
Virginia, men on horseback were swiftly flying to various 
parts of the line to bring up fresh and organized troops to 
meet the greatest danger that had ever yet threatened it. 
From Rodes's division came Ramseur; from Mahone's 
division, Perrin and Harris; and from Wilcox's division, 
McGowan ; these, with Gordon's division, made eight fresh 
brigades which were soon ready to contest with the Second 
Corps the conquest of the Salient. By eight o'clock they 
had forced our wearied and disorganized forces to the outer 
face of the captured line, around which was waged, until 
three o'clock the following morning, the fiercest battle of 
modern times. 

The accompanying diagram is a rough sketch of the 
outline of the Salient and its auxiliary earthworks. 
They were as well built and as scientifically laid out as 
any extemporized earthworks I ever saw. They were 
about five feet high on the inside, faced with logs, and 
topped with a large log to protect the head, raised so as 
to leave room enough under the log to handle and aim 
the muskets. The top of the earthworks outside of the 
head logs sloped gradually for three feet, and then made 
a steep descent to the ground. 

The outlines of the earthworks on the west front of 
the Salient were so planned that each separate face 
(from A to H on the diagram) was enfiladed by the 
fire from some other part of the line. For this reason 
the Federal troops were unable to hold possession of 
the exterior faces of the west front of the Salient, unless 
they first secured possession of the interior works on 
that front. For instance, the fronts on G — H and 






The Sixth Corps at Spottsylvania 177 

E — F were enfiladed from B — C. That on C— D from 
D — E, and so on. In addition to this on the interior 
fronts of H— I, G— H, F— G, and E— F, they had built 
strong traverses, extending twelve or fifteen feet per- 
pendicularly, or nearly so, from lines of those faces. 
These traverses served a 'double purpose: they pre- 
vented us from enfilading those interior faces, and each 
traverse formed with the front line from which it pro- 
jected a little fortress, behind which the enemy gathered 
in groups and poured a deadly fire into our ranks on the 
westerly front, who were hanging with a deadly grip to 
the exterior fronts or faces between H and I, and I 
and K. 

In front of the works from A to C, the woods were 
close to the works. From C to I, they were at different 
distances, but nowhere more than a thousand feet. 
The line of earthworks built and occupied by the Sixth 
Corps extended back of this woods from the point on 
the Brock Road where Sedgwick was killed, north 
nearly three quarters of a mile. s 

G shows the central point of Upton's attack on May 
10th, and the lines from F to R indicate the outlines of 
the interior earthworks captured by Upton, which 
enabled him to resist the repeated assaults made by 
the enemy to recapture the lines which he held for 
nearly three hours. 

It is very difficult to determine the exact times when 
the movements of the different organizations on that 
day occurred, as well as to trace the movements them- 
selves. 

The historian of the Twentieth Massachusetts Regi- 
ment says, in the closing sentence above quoted: "By 
eight o'clock they [the enemy] had forced our wearied 

'War Maps 55 (2), 96 (3). 



i7 8 Recollections of the Civil War 

and disorganized forces to the outer face of the captured 
line. . . ." 

Returning now to the night of the nth, General 
Wright, commanding the Sixth Corps, ordered the 
Third Division to occupy the entire line of earthworks 
of the corps, and to release the First and Second Divi- 
sions for the support of the Second Corps. At 4.30 
o'clock on the morning of the 12th the Second Division 
took their position northwest of the Brown house in an 
opening a short distance to the rear of where the assault- 
ing columns of the Second Corps had massed for their 
attack on the Salient. At the same hour (4.30), the 
Second Corps began to move forward. At 5 o'clock 
General Hancock sent the following despatch to General 

Meade: 

Second Army Corps, 
May 12, 1864 — 5 a.m. 
General Meade : Our men have the works, with some 
hundred prisoners ; impossible to say how many ; whole line 
moving up. This part of the line was held by Ewell. 

Winf'd S. Hancock, Major-General. 

■^t 5.55 the following despatch was sent: 

Headquarters Second Corps, 
May 12, 1864—5.55 a.m. 
[General Meade :] It is necessary that General Wright 
should attack at once. All of my troops are engaged. 

Winf'd S. Hancock. 

and subsequently the following was sent and received: 

Headquarters Army of the Potomac, 

May 12, 1864 — 6 a.m. 
General Hancock : General Wright has been ordered 
to attack at once vigorously on your right. 

S. Williams, 

A ssistant A djutant-General. l 
J See O. R., xxxvi., pt. 2, pp. 656, 657. 



The Sixth Corps at Spottsylvania 179 

According to my recollection, at 6 o'clock of that 
morning or a little after, Colonel Edwards rushed our 
brigade, which was in front of the Second Division, 
through the woods which separated us from the north- 
erly front of the Salient, and we there relieved troops 
of the Second Corps who occupied a portion of the 
exterior of the works they had captured from the enemy 
at dawn. On our left we joined a regiment belonging to 
the Tammany Brigade of Mott's division of the Second 
Corps at a point in the line of earthworks one or two 
hundred feet west of the apex or east angle of the 
Salient (see K on diagram). The Thirty-seventh oc- 
cupied on this line, from the point of contact with 
the Second Corps, to a point within one or two hundred 
feet of the west or Bloody Angle (I on the diagram). 
We were joined by the Second Rhode Island on our 
right at the latter point in the same way. The Tenth 
Massachusetts joined the right of the Second Rhode 
Island, and these two regiments extended our line of 
occupation to a point between G and H as indicated on 
the diagram. The Seventh Massachusetts of our 
brigade was on that day detailed to do picket duty, 
and was not engaged at the Salient. Bidwell's brigade, 
(Third Brigade, Second Division, Sixth Corps) fol- 
lowed us and was put into the fight on our right, next to 
the Tenth Massachusetts. The exterior of the earth- 
works in this part of the line was enfiladed by the 
enemy's fire so that our troops were unable to occupy 
the exterior earthworks. In fact, the enemy's works 
in front of Bidwell's brigade, and where they were occu- 
pied by the Tenth Massachusetts and part of the Second 
Rhode Island, from I to D on the diagram, were the 
most bitterly contested part of the field. 

If our troops could have got possession of the works 



180 Recollections of the Civil War 

at that point, tbey would have stopped the deadly fire 
from the traverses, and held the interior fortress from 
F to R, which enabled Upton, on May ioth, to hold the 
captured works against the repeated attempts of the 
Confederate forces to dislodge him. My reasons for 
stating that Bidwell's brigade was at this early hour 
(between 6 and 9.30 a.m.) located as I have described, 
are that Edwards's, Bidwell's, and Wheaton's brigades 
were at that hour sent to that part of the field. 
Edwards's occupied the works from KtoH, and Whea- 
ton's in front of the works from D to A. It is fair to 
presume that Bidwell's brigade connected the other two 
brigades and occupied in front of the works from H to 
D, as those points are shown on the diagram. 

The official reports are consistent with this statement, 
although those relating to Bidwell's brigade are very 
meagre. He says: 

On the morning of the 12 th we were moved to the rear of 
the position just captured by General Hancock, and ordered 
to support a brigade of this division, commanded by Colonel 
Edwards, at the Angle. The brigade was deployed in line 
and moved to this point, and two of the regiments, the 
Forty-ninth and Seventy-seventh New York, charged the 
Angle and took possession of the crest commanding it, 
which they held until relieved." 1 

I suppose this is a euphemistic way of describing the 
failure to hold the works. 

General Wheaton, in his report, says: 

May 12, 6 a.m., ordered to the left and south a mile to 
support the Second Corps, who occupied works captured 
at daylight. Advanced under a heavy artillery fire to 

1 O. R., xxx vi., pt. i, p. 720. 



The Sixth Corps at Spottsylvania 181 

within 50 yards of that part of the works still in the enemy's 
possession, generally known as the Angle or Slaughter Pen. 
Here we were exposed to a terrible musketry fire, losing 
heavily, including many valuable officers. 1 

General Brooke, in his report, same volume, page 
411, says that General Wheaton was on the right of the 
Sixth Corps line (point A on the diagram). 

The following despatch from General Hancock to 
General Meade appears in O. R., xxxvi., pt. 2, page 
657: 

May 12, 1864 — 7 a.m. 
General Meade : General Wright, of Sixth Army Corps, 
slightly wounded, but still in command. 

Winf'd S. Hancock, 

Major-General. 

From the foregoing it appears that at 5.55 a.m. 
General Hancock was hard pressed, and asked that the 
Sixth Corps be sent to assist him. At 6 o'clock General 
Wright was ordered to attack vigorously. His Second 
Division, which was close at hand, was sent at once into 
the works. Heavy fighting began along the whole line 
from the "Apex" of the Salient to the right of the Sixth 
Corps. The losses in our divisions were heavy. Be- 
fore 7 o'clock General Wright was listed among the 
wounded. In a despatch, at 7.15, General Hancock 
says, "My troops are in great disorder," and in an- 
other at 8.50, he says, "The enemy have been attack- 
ing us with great vehemence," and at 7.30 Meade sends 
word to Warren, "Wright says his right is attacked 
strongly and wants support . . . you must also support 
him." 2 

1 0. R., xxxvi., pt. 1, p. 684. 

3 See O. R., xxxvi., pt. 2, pp. 657, 658, 662. 



1 82 Recollections of the Civil War 

It was a foggy, misty morning, with rain at intervals, 
and I remember that at least three successive columns 
of the enemy before nine o'clock emerged from the mist, 
but at close range under our musketry fire were dis- 
solved and swept away. I refer to these proofs now to 
show that during the three hours and a half between 6 
and 9.30, when three brigades of the Second Division 
of the Sixth Corps were alone on the front of that part 
of the Salient, where the battle of the "Bloody Angle" 
was chiefly fought, most desperate fighting was then in 
progress. You will notice that I say "three brigades 
of the Second Division." This calls for explanation. 
This division at that time was composed of four bri- 
gades, and the one thus far not accounted for, was the 
most famous of all its brigades; probably as famous as 
any brigade in the army. I refer to the Second, com- 
monly known as the Vermont Brigade of the Second 
Division, Sixth Corps. It was very conspicuous in the 
fighting of that day; but in the early morning it re- 
ported to General Hancock, and was by him "ordered 
to the extreme left of the Second Corps (which was 
the extreme left of the Army of the Potomac)," where 
the brigade formed in two lines, threw out skirmishers 
and fortified. 1 (See M in the diagram.) 

Let us now see what had happened within the enemy's 
lines during these early morning hours. Under the 
impression that the attack was to be renewed upon his 
left flank, General Lee, on the afternoon of the nth, 
withdrew his artillery from the Salient, and sent it to 
his left. During the night General Johnson heard from 
his picket line in front of the Salient that sounds of 
activity, indicating possibility of an attack on the 

1 Report of General L. A. Grant, O. R., xxxvi., pt. I, page 703. 



The Sixth Corps at Spottsylvania 183 

Salient, were in the air, and communicated the report 
to headquarters; whereupon General Lee ordered the 
immediate return of his artillery, and the batteries 
came galloping up just as the Second Corps columns 
of attack sprang into the works and compelled the sur- 
render of Johnson and his defending forces, including 
his artillery. After securing their prisoners and send- 
ing them to the rear, the Second Corps surged forward 
to the earthworks, — marked S — T on the diagram. 
At this time they were in the disorganized and confused 
condition described in the foregoing quotation. Gen- 
eral Gordon's division was behind the earthwork. In 
the then condition of the Second Corps, it was an armed 
mob attacking a fortified line, defended by the best 
troops in the Southern army. The result was, our 
forces were driven back in rout, but rallied on the 
reverse side of the earthworks. 

General Gordon, in his Reminiscences of the Civil 
War, after describing in rather exaggerated phrase his 
gathering of forces to meet Hancock's advancing host; 
General Lee's inspiring presence and determination to 
personally lead them, overcome by the appeals and 
assurances of his officers and men that if he would go 
to the rear they would drive back the invaders ; the 
resistless rush under cover of the fog of his organized 
lines upon the disorganized Second Corps; — closes the 
paragraph with this remark (page 280), "Every foot of 
the lost Salient and earthworks was retaken, except 
that small stretch which the Confederate line was too 
short to cover." Later on he continues (at page 284) : 

As soon as it was ascertained that the Confederate lines 
had been too short to stretch across the whole of the wide- 
spreading crescent, and that the outer slope of a portion of 



1 84 Recollections of the Civil War 

Lee's works was still held by Grant's stalwart fighters, the 
third and last act of that memorable performance was 
opened. Under my orders, and under cover of the intrench- 
ment, my men began to slip to the left a few feet at a time, 
in order to occupy, unobserved if possible, that still open 
space. The ditch along which they slowly glided, and 
from which the earth had been thrown to form the embank- 
ment, favored them ; but immediately opposite to them and 
within a few feet of them on the outer side stood their keen- 
eyed, alert foemen, holding to their positions with a relent- 
less grip. This noiseless sliding process had not proceeded 
far before it was discovered by the watchful men in blue. 
The discovery was made at the moment when Lee and 
Grant began to hurl their columns against that portion of 
the works held by both. Thus was inaugurated that roll 
of musketry which is likely to remain without a parallel, at 
least in the length of time it lasted. 

Mounting to the crest of the embankment, the Union 
men poured upon the Confederates a galling fire. To the 
support of the latter other Confederate commands quickly 
came, crowding into the ditches, clambering up the embank- 
ment's side, and returning volley for volley. Then followed 
the mighty rush from both armies, filling the entire disputed 
space. Firing into one another's faces, beating one another 
down with clubbed muskets, the front ranks fought across 
the embankment's crest almost within an arm's reach, the 
men behind passing up to them freshly loaded rifles as their 
own were emptied. As those in front fell, others quickly 
sprang forward to take their places. On both sides the 
dead men were piled in heaps. As Confederates fell, their 
bodies rolled into the ditch, and upon their bleeding forms, 
their living comrades stood, beating back Grant's furiously 
charging columns. The bullets seemed to fly in sheets. Be- 
fore the pelting hail and withering blast the standing timber 
fell. The breastworks were literally drenched in blood. The 
coming of the darkness failed to check the raging battle. 
It only served to increase the awful terror of the scene. 



The Sixth Corps at Spottsylvania 185 

In an address by Colonel Joseph N. Brown, 1 who, 
after the wounding of General McGowan at the Bloody 
Angle, on May 12th, had command of what was known 
as McGowan's (South Carolina) brigade, and which 
brigade for nineteen hours, from 9 in the morning of 
the 1 2th until 4 o'clock on the morning of the 13th, 
occupied the traverses at the Bloody Angle, and with 
Harris's Mississippi Brigade did some of the most des- 
perate fighting at the Bloody Angle, it is stated : 

On the morning of the 12th of May, the brigade was in 
front or north of Spottsylvania court-house. Gen. Ewell's 
corps was on the left or west of us. It was scarcely light 
when we heard firing along Gen. Ewell's lines and the 
direction soon indicated that his troops were being driven 
back. A feeling of unrest among officers of high rank indi- 
cated disaster. Gen. Harris's Mississippi Brigade of A. P. 
Hill's corps was ordered to move in that direction. Soon 
after 9 o'clock McGowan's brigade was also ordered there. 
Gen. Grant had massed his troops and assaulted the lines 
held by Gen. Ewell, capturing Gen. Edward Johnson and 
over 3000 prisoners. It was to recapture these works and 
repair the disaster that Harris's and McGowan's brigades 
were sent forward. Gen. John B. Gordon by a brilliant 
charge and some other commands of Gen. Ewell's corps had 
already recaptured part of the works. But the strongest 
and most ably defended portion including the Angle and 
the works to the left of it, was still held by the Federal 
troops. Gen. Harris's brigade had captured part of the line , 
to the right of Gen. Gordon, but did not reach to the Angle. 
This left the Angle and the works to the right of Gen. 
Harris for the assault and capture by McGowan's brigade. 

1 Pamphlet printed by The Advocate Publishing Co. (1900), Ander- 
son, S. C, "An Address delivered by Col. Joseph N. Brown, at the No- 
vember (1900) meeting of the R. E. Lee Chapter of the Daughters of the 
Confederacy on the Battle of the 'Bloody Angle.'" 



186 Recollections of the Civil War 

It was here that the celebrated incident of Gen. Gordon 
inducing Gen. Lee to go to the rear occurred. The Angle 
was not an inverted V nor a horse-shoe as sometimes called 
in the reports, and in fact was an obtuse instead of an acute 
angle in the works. These works were on the highest 
ground or crest at this place, sloping down-hill in front and 
rear and were in the edge of oak woods on our side and an 
old field of pines in our front, rather thin nearest the works 
and thicker farther into the Federal lines in our front. This 
depression was such a formation as afforded protection to 
the Federals. From the Angle westward to be occupied by 
us were traverses or short breastworks some twelve or 
fifteen feet long running back or south from the front and 
about the same distance apart and open to the rear. These 
traverses had been constructed for defence from an en- 
filading or flank fire to which the troops might be subjected 
from the enemy on the right of the Angle in case they held 
it. [A diagram exhibited, the blue lines representing the 
Federal forces, the black lines the Confederates.] 

The brigade on reaching the battle ground was rapidly 
formed in line of battle, the Twelfth on the right, which 
would be for the Angle, and the Fourteenth on the left, 
farthest from the Angle, and the other regiments between. 
Through some fault of some officers of Gen. Ewell or Gen. 
Rodes we were not properly directed so as to reach the 
objective point, and the right of the brigade, the Twelfth 
Regiment, did not reach as far as the Angle and the other 
regiments toward the left had to go through the terrible 
ordeal of a flank movement led by the Twelfth, and it was 
one of the fiercest and most bloody struggles of the war, 
but succeeded in reaching and holding the Angle while the 
Federal troops still held the right of the Angle on the oppo- 
site side almost lapping our lines. Thus both sides claimed 
to hold the Angle. Besides the heavy loss of men there was 
a greater proportion in loss of officers for the number 
engaged. We had lost so heavily in officers in the Wilder- 
ness that we had perhaps not half our usual number and of 



The Sixth Corps at Spottsylvania 187 

these very few escaped being killed or wounded. The 
charge was made facing a terrific fire in front and a more 
terrific and deadly fire in flank from the enemy on the right 
of the Angle. It is only the soldier familiar with battle that 
knows the fatal effect of a flank fire. But it was met and 
the works carried, but with it the severe wounding of Gen. 
McGowan, our brigade commander. Col. B. T. Brockman, 
the second in command, was mortally wounded; Cols. 
McCreary of the First and Miller of Orr's Rifles wounded ; 
Lieut.-Col. W. P. Shooter of the First killed, and many line 
officers wounded, and Adjutant D. E. Brown of the Four- 
teenth mortally wounded. In the wounding of Gen. 
McGowan and Col. Brockman, the command of the brigade 
devolved on me as third in command, being next in rank to 
Col. Brockman, but my regiment, the Fourteenth, being on 
the left, and Lieut.-Col. Isaac F. Hunt of the Thirteenth 
Regiment being near the Angle to the right, he conducted 
the battle for awhile with the right regiments, being the 
ranking officer on that part of the line. He soon informed 
me of the state of affairs and I assumed command, going 
with him to the right, near the Angle, and at once took in 
the situation and entered upon the work of holding the 
Angle during the next succeeding seventeen hours under 
the most terrific rain of minie balls recorded in the history 
of warfare. During that seventeen hours the oak woods 
along our line and to our rear were riddled with bullets ; one 
red oak, near 18 inches in diameter, and a hickory, 8 inches, 
were cut down by the minie balls in our lines, in the fourth 
traverse from the Angle, and many others stripped largely 
of the bark and leaves. The hickory fell late in the after- 
noon and the oak early in the night. 

On arriving at this point and assuming command it 
became apparent from the few officers left with us, that in 
order to successfully hold the Angle another officer was 
needed to forward men to the right to take the places of 
their comrades as they fell killed or wounded, and to forward 
ammunition to replenish the cartridge boxes, while the 



1 88 Recollections of the Civil War 

brigade commander should take his station near the right 
and be ready for emergencies as they might arise. At my 
request Col. Hunt took charge of the forwarding of the men 
and ammunition as needed, and with almost superhuman 
strength performed that duty during the long, deadly 
struggle. Without this efficient service it would seem impos- 
sible to have held the lines. Any weakening of the lines, 
or any scarcity of ammunition would have been fatal. The 
brave men towards our left moved with haste to the right 
as called upon, and never for a moment did we lack for men 
to hold the Angle and traverses to its left, though frequently 
the enemy crossed rifles and bayonets across the works and 
at times crossed over themselves, when a hand-to-hand 
conflict ensued most deadly in its character. Our men in 
the traverses to the left would charge in with the Rebel 
yell to the aid of their overpowered comrades, recapture the 
position with some prisoners, and drive the others across to 
their own side. Except when the conflict was raging at 
such close quarters, the whole fire of the Federals was con- 
centrated from all points and their lines were also heavily 
concentrated, and quadrupled, upon our front and that of 
Harris, but more than doubly so on the Angle and traverses 
in our brigade, heavier at the oak tree on the fourth traverse 
above described. Late in the day it was observed that 
quite a number of Harris's brigade were being brought to 
the right with our men by Col. Hunt, and the number 
increased later, so that by night every part of our brigade, 
and especially on the right, was intermingled with the brave 
Mississippians. 

With one short intermission hereinafter referred to, the 
conflict raged every hour and every minute until midnight 
with the greatest fury, and from midnight until 4 a.m. on 
the 13th it only slackened from the exhaustion and weakness 
of our brave soldiers and by the withdrawal of part of the 
Union forces in our front. I say part of them, for by Gen. 
Hancock's official report he states that he withdrew his 
forces at midnight, but my personal knowledge of the 



The Sixth Corps at Spottsylvania 189 

sweeping bullets along our lines all the night long, impels 
me to construe his report as withdrawing his corps but 
leaving other commands to contest the point until morning. 
At all events soldiers were there and firing continually, 
closely, and at short range. And to the last our men fell 
pierced by their bullets. The Mississippians like us had 
very few officers and in many of the traverses had not an 
officer with them, nor did they seem to need them for all 
along the lines they had special orders to move rapidly to 
any point of greatest danger. This they did every time the 
enemy secured any footing on the right and drove them out, 
recovering the lost ground. The lines on the left of the 
brigade of course became thinner in order to mass on the 
right and to fill the places of our dead and wounded, and so 
did the lines of Harris's brigade, for by night we had a large 
body of them with us on the right. They responded nobly 
to Col. Hunt's demand on them, for he did not deem it pru- 
dent to make the lines of our brigade any weaker. He went 
still farther to the west into Gen. S. D. Ramseur's brigade, 
but under orders his officers could not weaken their line. 
No immediate firing was in their front, but a cross fire from 
the right of the Angle threw some balls among them to which 
they could not reply in safety to us. It was a rainy day 
and water stood in the trenches, reddened with the blood of 
our wounded and dead comrades, and before dark the dead 
were so thick in the traverses toward the right that the living 
had not standing room without trampling on them and they 
laid them in heaps to make room. Night came on and our 
men still held every foot of ground which had been captured. 
The Angle was still ours, and no attempt to cross it was 
again made. But the deadly fire continued from front and 
flank, and scores of men fell during the night whose names 
could not be known and on the roll-call next day were added 
to the list of missing. It was in the dark of the moon and a 
drizzling rain fell all night, and the darkness was only 
broken by the flashing of the guns to light up the horrid 
scene. After midnight the fire of the enemy slackened but 



190 Recollections of the Civil War 

continued dangerous and fatal all night and ceased only as 
we Voluntarily left the place at 4 a.m. on the 13th. We 
quietly left with only a few stray bullets following. We 
withdrew because a better and stronger line had been formed 
in our rear, as being better than sending in reinforcements. 

At 9.30 o'clock on the morning of the 12th, the 
enemy had succeeded in taking possession of the interior 
lines of the works on the west side of the Salient from the 
point designated as A in the diagram, to a point about 
150 feet southwest of the so-called Bloody Angle, desig- 
nated as I on the diagram, and from that point the 
Fourth Brigade of the Second Division occupied the 
exterior line of the earthworks of the Salient to a point 
within 150 feet of the apex of the Salient, where for a 
distance of several hundred feet, the enemy had suc- 
ceeded in dislodging a portion of Mott's division of the 
Second Corps, and driving them out of their possession 
of the works. Later in the day this portion of the line 
was recaptured by the Second Corps. 

Until the arrival of the First Division of the Sixth 
Corps, about 9.30 o'clock, the Fourth Brigade was 
mainly employed with the other brigades of the Second 
Division in replying to the almost constant fusillade 
kept up by the enemy from behind the impenetrable 
fog in which they were concealed, and repelling three 
separate assaults of their columns of attack, by which 
they attempted to compel the Sixth Corps to withdraw 
entirely from its possession of the works connected with 
the Salient. For an hour or two after 9.30, the Fourth 
Brigade was alone in its occupancy of the exterior of 
the works on that portion of the line, and on both 
flanks of the brigade, where we occupied the exterior 
of the works, the enemy occupied the interior at a dis- 
tance of only four or five feet between the lines. 



The Sixth Corps at Spottsylvania 191 

A little beyond the right of the line occupied by us 
the enemy had built, in order to prevent the enfilading 
of their lines by our artillery, a series of traverses which 
extended perpendicularly from the interior of the earth- 
works twelve or fifteen feet, at distances of fifteen or 
twenty feet apart. The whole number of these tra- 
verses, so far as they were visible from our line, did not 
exceed ten. These were occupied by the enemy and 
used as fortresses, from which they kept up a constant 
fire upon all of our lines within their vision. On the 
other hand, a great part of our time was occupied in 
watching for the appearance of heads above or outside 
of these fortresses or under the head logs, in order to 
get shots at their marksmen and silence their fire. As 
the fog was much of the time so heavy that nothing 
could be seen but the dim outlines of the works, we 
kept up a constant fire in order to prevent them from 
showing themselves, or using the openings under the 
head logs as port-holes. They used the same tactics in 
trying to silence our fire. 

Thus it continued from 6 o'clock on the morning of 
the 1 2th until 4 o'clock on the morning of the 13th, the 
soldiers of the Fourth Brigade firing during that time 
about 500 rounds of ammunition to the man. They 
brought us ammunition by the box. Our guns got 
hot and we would send them to the rear and receive 
other guns in exchange, and when our guns were cooled 
and cleaned they were returned to us. The operation 
was repeated several times during the day. They did 
not dare to relieve us because they were afraid that 
when we were moving out and other regiments were 
coming in, the enemy would seize the interior of the 
lines and accomplish the end they had been fighting for. 
At one time after dark, about 9 o'clock in the evening, 



192 Recollections of the Civil War 

an attempt was made to withdraw our line and to sub- 
stitute another brigade for ours, but in the midst of it 
the cry was raised that the enemy were occupying the 
works and we were speedily rushed back into our 
former rjosition and the attempt to relieve us was 
given up. 

On several occasions during the day undertakings 
were organized with a view of storming the traverses 
and getting possession of the interior works. In the 
morning, between 10 and n o'clock, Colonel Edwards 
was authorized to organize a detail of fifty men who 
were expected to carry the first traverses at the point of 
the bayonet. Accordingly he called for volunteers 
from the Thirty-seventh Massachusetts, and fifty men 
stepped forward, and I was assigned to the duty of 
leading them. We withdrew from the works to a pro- 
tected point just under the crest in the rear of the line 
and made our plans. I examined, as carefully as I 
could, from the different standpoints the traverses that 
were to be assaulted, and agreed with Colonel Edwards 
as to the line of our attack. When we were all ready 
to start, orders were received from the headquarters of 
the corps countermanding the authority to make the 
attempt. I have the impression that the results of the 
various assaults attempted by General Upton and 
General Russell, and in particular by the New Jersey 
Brigade, had convinced the officers at the headquarters 
of the corps that it would be a useless slaughter. 

If the New Jersey Brigade failed to hold this portion 
of the works after getting inside of them on the ioth, 
and were compelled to retire with the loss of 789 men, 
what could our little handful of fifty men hope to 
accomplish in their effort to seize and hold the same 
position? If we had made the attempt there is every 



The Sixth Corps at Spottsylvania 193 

probability that the whole detachment would have been 
sacrificed. 

Later in the day Cutler's division of the Fifth Corps 
was ordered to make an assault on the same part of the 
enemy's lines, backed if necessary by the other divisions 
of the Fifth Corps. 

General Humphrey in his Virginia Campaign of 
'64 and '65, * says of this assault : 

It appearing probable that the enemy's intrenchments in 
the vicinity of the west angle could be carried if assaulted by 
the whole Fifth Corps, General Warren was directed to 
withdraw from his front and move with his whole corps to 
the designated point and attack. Griffin's division fol- 
lowed Cutler's closely. The other troops of the Fifth Corps 
were following except Crawford's division, when the project 
of further assault was given up, as it did not appear to 
promise a complete success. 

The Fourth Brigade did succeed in stopping any ad- 
vance of the enemy north of the first traverse in the 
interior of their works. Our guns were trained on that 
point with instructions to shoot down and annihilate 
every live thing that appeared on that part of the field. 
The result was that nothing could live there. Hun- 
dreds of muskets were trained ready to shoot if any 
attempt was made to advance their occupation at that 
point, and after dark when we could no longer see any 
such movement a constant fire was kept up to prevent 
any possible attempt on their part to seize and occupy 
the Angle. Several such attempts were made during 
the day, but they had to be abandoned. 

General Humphrey further says at page 98 : 

It is apparent from these statements that the outer face 
1 "Campaigns of the War Series" (Scribner), vol. xii., p. 101. 



194 Recollections of the Civil War 

of the captured intrenchments in this part of the field was 
held by our troops, as they were from there around to the 
apex of the west angle and some distance on the west face 
of the Salient. 

Thus hour after hour we kept up our weary vigil. 
Every other regiment or brigade of the Sixth Corps 
that was on the firing line was relieved during the after- 
noon or early evening. In volume iv. of the Papers of 
the Military Historical Society of Massachusetts, on 
the Wilderness Campaign, at page 66, it is stated in 
the note that all Grant's toilers in the ditch were 
relieved except the Thirty-seventh Massachusetts. My 
understanding is that none of the regiments of the 
Fourth Brigade, Second Division, was relieved, but of 
this I am not absolutely certain. Possibly the Tenth 
Massachusetts and Second Rhode Island were with- 
drawn from the firing line at 9 o'clock in the evening, 
when the attempt was made to relieve the Thirty- 
seventh Massachusetts, which failed, as I have before 
described. * 

1 General Edwards, of the Thirty-seventh Massachusetts regiment, in 
his unpublished memoir entitled, "My Recollections of the Civil War" 
(manuscript, pages 85-7), concludes his account of the battle as follows: 
"My command was engaged in close, hot fighting from about 5 A.M., 
May 12th, to 3 a.m., May 13th (22 hours). This shows that my front 
was the main point of attack. The heavy traverses, and enfilading fire, 
also showed my front to have been the crown or apex of the Angle. The 
line of the enemy's enfilading fire across Upton's front, and down the 
line of the Tenth Massachusetts to the Second Company to the right 
of the Second Rhode Island passed then to the rear of the Second Rhode 
Island and Thirty-seventh Massachusetts until opposite the left of the 
Thirty-seventh Massachusetts the enfilading fire was about 50 yards 
in their rear. These facts certainly prove the location of the Angle. 
As the battle of the Angle (after Hancock's magnificent charge) was no 
part of the plans of General Grant, it was not considered of much impor- 
tance by us, but the Richmond Whig of May 18th, 1864, showed that 
the enemy considered it of very great importance, and that the defence 



The Sixth Corps at Spottsylvania 195 

Between three and four o'clock in the morning of May 
13th, the enemy withdrew their forces from the Salient 
to the earthworks which they had built during the 
previous day at its base. We waited for the dawn and 
then cautiously peered over the earthworks. They 
had so quietly stolen away that we were not aware that 
they had gone, and expected to see them rise from 
behind their traverses and renew the fight, but it did 
not take us long to discover the fact that they had 
vacated the Salient. 

Such a scene as we there witnessed is beyond the 
power of pen to describe. The bodies of the fallen lay 
all over the field. Horses and men chopped into hash 
by the bullets, and appearing more like piles of jelly 
than the distinguishable forms of human life, were 
scattered all over the plain. Caissons and artillery 
carriages were cut into slivers. Trees large and small 
were cut down. It had rained much of the twenty- 
was the most heroic they had ever met on the part of the Yanks. The 
survivors of the Thirty-seventh Massachusetts and the Second Rhode 
Island, Tenth Massachusetts, and the regiments of the brigade of the 
Second Corps, will recognize the truth of what I have written of the 
battle of the Angle. I refrain from mentioning names of those of my 
command who were especially brave and efficient as nearly all of the 
command did such heroic fighting. In giving this version of the Angle 
proper, I have carefully reviewed all the data in my possession, and while 
I recognize how nearly impossible it is to give an entirely correct account 
of any battle, yet I am confident that what I have written herein is as 
correct as it is possible to be, so far as it concerns my own command and 
those commands immediately on my right, and left. And this I write 
as the honor of the defence of the Angle has been claimed for Upton's 
brigade, which might as well have been at the bottom of a well firing 
up at the sky for all the loss they did or could inflict upon the enemy, 
from the position they occupied. Throughout that long night Captain 
T. G. Colt was the only one of my staff able to do duty. His great 
heart and intense will kept him up while the other brave men slept like 
the dead in the mud and rain. There was no artillery used on our side 
at or near the Angle save a section (two guns) on the front of the Second 



196 Recollections of the Civil War 

four hours, and the surface of the plain was torn with 
the trampling of the armed hosts and the struggles of 
the combatants. The ground was soaked with blood 
and water, with here and there pools deeply dyed with 
the same ingredients. 

Among the wounded were Lieutenant-Colonel Mon- 
tague, Captains Lincoln and Pease, First Lieutenants 
Champney and Wellman, Second Lieutenants Sparks, 
Follansbee, and Cooke. The latter was of my company, 
and in his case and that of Follansbee the wounds 
proved fatal. Both were recently promoted and com- 
missioned and had excellent records as soldiers. George 
Cooke was my acquaintance from boyhood, and our 
relations in the regiment were very intimate. Toward 
Lincoln I felt like a brother, and as rumor at first 
reported him as mortally wounded, I had a deep sense 
of depression as if I were being deserted and left alone. 
My weariness added much to the force of this im- 
pression. 

Rhode Island. As the fire of these guns was less effective than the 
infantry fire owing to the enemy's being entirely protected from our fire 
until they were within a few yards from us, I requested the officer com- 
manding them to withdraw the guns which he did, the guns being in 
action bit a short time. Two oak trees of considerable size were cut 
down by bullets in front of my command and a battle flag was captured 
by the Thirty-seventh Massachusetts. The Vermont Brigade to the 
right of Wheaton had some hard fighting and drove the enemy from 
their front and Birney's division to my left repulsed any attempt made 
by the enemy in their front, but the Angle proper was defended by my 
command of the Thirty-seventh and Tenth Massachusetts and Second 
Rhode Island of my own brigade, and what I understand to have been 
the Excelsior Brigade of the Second Corps, assisted by the effective cross 
fire of the Tenth New Jersey (after 5 P.M.). The longest and severest 
fighting was sustained by the Thirty-seventh and Tenth Massachusetts 
and the Second Rhode Island. My account of the defence of the Angle 
is mainly limited to the defence of the Angle proper; of the honorable 
part borne by other commands I could attempt to write only what I 
saw myself or heard of at the time." 



The Sixth Corps at Spottsylvania 197 

Returning now to the First Division of the Sixth 
Corps, Upton's official report indicates that, in the 
early morning, that division was sent to or towards the 
right of the Army of the Potomac. General Upton 
there states: "Early on the 12th it [Upton's Second 
Brigade, First Division] moved with the division toward 
the right flank of the army, but to the left again at 7 
a.m., arriving in rear of the Second Corps at 9.30 a.m." 
(O. R., xxxvi., pt. 1, page 669). In Haines's History of 
the Fifteenth New Jersey Regiment, which regiment 
belonged to the First (or New Jersey) Brigade and First 
Division of the Sixth Corps, the following facts appear. 
General Sedgwick on May 9th, just before he was killed, 
ordered the First New Jersey Brigade from an exposed 
position on the Brock Road to a place in the rear near 
Alsop's house on the same road. On page 174 Haines 
says: 

We had been drawn in, during the night of the ioth, from 
the position before the Salient, to one behind a work which 
had been constructed to the left and rear of the position of 
the morning of the 9th and to which we had been ordered by 
General Sedgwick just before he fell. On the nth after the 
manceuvers in front of this position, we were brought back to 
this point, where we again spent the night. 

This fixes the position of the New Jersey Brigade and 
probably of the First Division on the night of the nth 
of May, to-wit : at Alsop's, which was one mile west of 
the Salient. Mr. Haines continues: 

When the works at the Salient were taken, we were at 
once hurried still further to the right [N. B. the exact move- 
ment described by General Upton as made at the time by 



198 Recollections of the Civil War 

his brigade with the division] south of the position of the 
morning of the 9th, with the view of strengthening the right 
flank of our army, in case an attack should be made upon it by 
the enemy, who might naturally suppose we had weakened our 
line there by the forces taken to the left. [After stating the 
success of the Second Corps attack :] The brigade was then 
double-quicked to the north, to the camp of the night before, 
from which we had started ; then east, . . . and southward 
to the Bloody Angle." 

General Upton states the fact of this digressive move- 
ment and Haines's History gives the details and the 
reasons for the same. The result was that the First 
Division did not reach the battle-ground until 9.30 
a.m., and the Second Division had then been desperately 
fighting with varying fortunes for three and a half 
hours. 

Under General Russell's direction, the First (or New 
Jersey) Brigade was put into position opposite the point 
where Upton made his successful assault on May 10th, 
the Second (or Upton's) Brigade supported by the 
Third (or Russell's old) Brigade established the left of 
its line about two hundred feet south of the west (or 
"Bloody") angle, in the exterior of the earthworks, 
extending a little north of west (see O — P on diagram) , 
and the Fourth (or Shaler's) Brigade was put in at 
various points to fill gaps as they were found to exist 
in the line, and in particular relieved a portion of Mott's 
division, Second Corps, at the east angle. 

The part taken by each of the commands will more 
fully appear when the story of each is told. Of course, 
it is imperfect, but I give it so far as I have been able 
to gather it from the official records and regimental 
and brigade histories. Parts of some of these reports 
have already been quoted, but at the risk of repetition 



The Sixth Corps at Spottsylvania 199 

whatever relates to these specific commands will be 
given in full under headings naming the commands to 
which they relate. l 

1 The story here referred to of the part taken and the positions occu- 
pied by each brigade of the Sixth Corps, separately told, will be found in 
the Appendix, at page 349. 



CHAPTER XI 

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE BATTLES OF THE 
WILDERNESS AND SPOTTSYLVANIA 

THE Wilderness and Spottsylvania were in reality 
one long drawn battle. Grant started out to 
administer a decisive defeat to the Army of Northern 
Virginia. Lee countered, as he had done, so success- 
fully at Chancellorsville, when the Army of the Poto- 
mac attempted to advance against him in Virginia, by 
checking the advance in its beginnings, and then strik- 
ing a quick, decisive blow in return. He succeeded 
remarkably at Chancellorsville with these tactics and 
in the Wilderness he tried it with the assurance of 
success that he had derived from his experience at 
Chancellorsville . 

His biographers are unanimous in declaring that Lee 
fully believed that he had Grant in a trap, and would 
be able to overwhelm him or drive him back as he had 
Hooker and Burnside. In fact against any other com- 
mander of the Army of the Potomac than Grant, after 
the 6th of May the movement would have ended in a 
retreat across the Rappahannock. Lee himself was 
much astonished on the 7th of May when he found that 
Grant was moving around his right flank and advanc- 
ing instead of retreating. This was a bitter disappoint- 
ment to Lee, and at Spottsylvania he summoned all the 
resources of his great nature in one final supreme effort 



Wilderness and Spottsylvania 201 

to stop Grant's advance, and to compel the retreat of 
the Northern army. This accounts for the terrible 
conflict that was waged at Spottsylvania. It was the 
last desperate effort of the Army of Northern Virginia 
aggressively to check our advance by the right flank 
and if possible cut us off from our base at Fredericks- 
burg. 

After Spottsylvania, Lee fought a defensive fight, 
although at North Anna, where he was prostrated by 
sickness, he is quoted by one of his staff as saying, "We 
must strike them a blow, we must never let them pass 
us again." The will was still there, but both he and 
his army were too weak to put it into execution. They 
were saving their strength for the defensive tactics 
adopted at Cold Harbor. 

It is reported that as Lee rode away from Spottsyl- 
vania, he remarked, "We wish no more Salients." 

That the pace which General Lee established for the 
Army of Northern Virginia in the Wilderness and 
maintained at Spottsylvania was too hot to be kept up, 
was indicated by what had happened to its leaders. By 
the time that he reached North Anna, not only was Lee 
himself prostrated by an alarming sickness, but his great 
cavalry commander Stuart was killed on the 10th of 
May, at the Yellow Tavern, a few miles north of 
Richmond. * Two out of three of his corps commanders 
were disabled, Longstreet by wounds, and A. P. Hill by 
sickness. These men could not be replaced. 

Swinton, in his History of the Army of the Potomac, 
at page 458, sums up the situation of the Northern 
army in the following language : 

Before the lines of Spottsylvania the Army of the 
1 See Long's Memoirs of R. E. Lee, page 343. 



202 Recollections of the Civil War 

Potomac had for twelve days and nights engaged in a fierce 
wrestle, in which it had done all that valor may do to carry 
a position, by nature and art impregnable. 

In this contest, unparalleled in its continuous fury, and 
swelling to the proportions of a campaign, language is inade- 
quate to convey an impression of the labors, fatigues, and 
sufferings of the troops, who fought by day only to march 
by night, from point to point of the long line, and renew the 
fight on the morrow. Above forty thousand men had 
already fallen in the bloody encounters of the Wilderness 
and Spottsylvania, and the exhausted army began to lose 
its spirit. It was with joy, therefore, that it at length 
turned its back upon the lines of Spottsylvania. 

The Southern losses were proportionately less than 
the Northern, but the resources of the North were 
vastly greater than those of the South. 

Who can doubt that General Lee, as he turned his 
back upon the lines of his army at Spottsylvania and 
thought of his dwindling numbers and his irreparable 
losses, recognized the fact that the era of great battles 
between the Army of Northern Virginia and the Army 
of the* Potomac had passed? Henceforth he was on 
the defensive. 



CHAPTER XII 

AFTER SPOTTSYLVANIA. NORTH ANNA AND 
COLD HARBOR 

MAY 13 TO JUNE 12, 1864 

WHEN the Fourth Brigade, Second Division, were 
relieved at the Bloody Angle, at 5 o'clock of the 
morning of May 13th, and allowed to go to the rear, 
they were so exhausted, that when they were withdrawn 
to the vicinity of the Landrum house, they could hardly 
wait for their breakfast of crackers and coffee, until 
they dropped in their tracks and fell asleep in the soft 
spongy Virginia soil. They slept without interruption 
during that day and until evening, when the Sixth 
Corps was ordered to follow the Fifth Corps in a move- 
ment through the woods in the rear of Burnside (Ninth 
Corps) to the extreme left of the line southeast from 
Spottsylvania Court-House. 

The night was horribly dark, and at times the rain 
fell in torrents. An attempt had been made to mark 
the route by building fires at intervals through the 
woods, and guides supposed to be familiar with the 
byways and paths of that region were used; but 
the fires gradually burned out, the guides even got lost, 
and before daylight we were obliged to halt because of 
inability to make any progress. With the dawn of day 
we were started again and moved two or three miles to 
the left, through the mud, where we rested from 9 
o'clock in the morning until 3 o'clock in the afternoon 

203 



204 Recollections of the Civil War 

of May 14th. At 3 o'clock in the afternoon we were 
moved still farther to the left, halted and formed lines 
of battle with the Third Division of the Sixth Corps 
thrown across the Po River. After moving our lines 
three separate times, we were finally allowed to spend 
the night in a ploughed field, sleeping as we could 
between the furrows with our arms in our hands. 

May 15th was Sunday, and after being awakened at 
5 o'clock in the morning and standing in line for an hour, 
the regiments were allowed to stack arms and to even- 
tually spend the day and the night in attempted rest 
with one or two interruptions in the shape of orders to 
move, which were countermanded. Our chaplain even 
held service at 1 o'clock and preached a sermon. 

The weather was threatening and all night the rain 
fell in heavy showers. This was the beginning of a 
period of five days of rain, during which General Grant 
writes that the "roads became so bad that ambulances 
with wounded men could not move between the Army 
and Fredericksburg." 

On the night of the 17th, the Second and Sixth Corps 
were suddenly ordered to march back to their old posi- 
tions at the Salient and to assault at 4 a.m. of the next 
morning. We marched all night, a step at a time, 
and in the morning found ourselves near the famous 
Angle of May 12th. 

General Wheaton's brigade was massed for an 
assault, and we were part of the supports. The attack 
was made at 4.30 in the morning, but we did not suc- 
ceed in surprising the enemy, and their works were too 
strong to be carried by assault. After being subjected 
to a severe fire of shell, grape, and canister, the Sixth 
Corps was withdrawn, the Thirty-seventh having suf- 
fered a loss of twenty-one men. 



North Anna and Cold Harbor 205 

During the afternoon of the 18th we returned to our 
position on the left of the army from which we had 
started the previous day. That night I was detailed 
with 100 men to perform picket duty. Our picket line 
ran through heavily timbered woods. I had great 
difficulty in establishing the line and making connec- 
tions at both ends. The forest was so thick and dark 
that I saw it would be impossible to relieve the line at 
night. I therefore put three men on each post with 
instructions that they should relieve each other, and I 
planted these posts at proper intervals. But as the 
Confederate picket line was so close in our front that 
we could hear them moving about and talking, we spent 
a very anxious night. We were withdrawn at daylight 
and returned to the regiment, and the corps was moved 
about a mile to the right and formed line of battle in 
anticipation of an attack. The day passed without any 
special occurrence in our front or on our part of the line. 
General Grant was occupied during this and the next 
two days with preparations to move the army around 
the Confederate right flank, which resulted in bringing 
the two armies face to face on the south bank of the 
North Anna River on May 24th. 

During May 20th I received the following order: 

HEADQUARTERS SECOND DIV., 6TH CORPS, 

May 19th, 1864. 
Special Orders. 

No. 81. [Extract] 

Captain M. W. Tyler, 37th Massachusetts Volunteers, is 

hereby detailed as A. A. D. C. to Brig.-Gen. Neill, Com'd'g 

2d Division. He will report with the least possible delay. 

By order of 

Brig.-Gen. Neill. 

(Signed), William H. Long, 

CapL &A.A. G. 



206 Recollections of the Civil War 

I received the order on the 20th, and reported on the 
2 1st to General Neill at 12 o'clock. 

General Thomas H. Neill, who had honored me with 
an appointment on his staff, was a graduate of West 
Point in the Class of 1847, had served in the Mexican 
War and in the Indian campaigns on the frontier. He 
was brevetted for conspicuous gallantry at Malvern 
Hill, received four other brevets during the war, and at 
its close was a brevet major-general of volunteers. 
When General Getty was wounded on May 6th in the 
Wilderness, General Neill was assigned to the command 
of the Second Division, Sixth Corps. He was a man of 
fine personal presence, very cultivated in his tastes and 
manners, and in the regular army was generally known 
as "Beau Neill." It was a rare privilege for me to 
serve on the staff of such an experienced and capable 
division commander. My associates on the staff were 
Captain William H. Long, assistant adjutant-general, 
Captain Hazard Stevens, division inspector-general, 
and Captains Horace Binney and Andrew J. Smith, 
personal aides-de-camp. It was an efficient staff. 
Excepting myself they were all experienced and sea- 
soned staff officers. 

When I reported for duty I was pretty well fagged 
out. We had fought by day and marched by night 
until it seemed as if I could hardly put one foot before 
the other. It was a great relief to mount a horse, 
although I was so tired that during the first two or 
three nights it seemed as if I would fall asleep and roll 
off my horse in spite of myself. 

At 3 o'clock on the morning of May 21st, we were 
ordered out to stand in line. The details for picket and 
fatigue duty were so large that there were hardly men 
enough left to man the works. At 9 o'clock we moved 



North Anna and Cold Harbor 207 

back into a new line of works where my regiment spent 
the rest of the day. During the afternoon the Sixth 
Corps, which had been selected to cover the final 
withdrawal of the army from the Spottsylvania lines, 
was ordered to be in readiness for a move at dark. We 
were concentrated on high ground, in the vicinity of the 
Gayle house 1 on the Fredericksburg road. Late in the 
day, General Hill made a reconnoissance in force to see 
if we were still in the lines, but was driven back in con- 
fusion. The artillery firing was especially effective 
under the direction of Colonel C. H. Tompkins. The 
Sixth Corps suffered a loss of a few men, and of these 
the Thirty-seventh Massachusetts contributed one 
man killed, and six wounded. I was busy during the 
engagement carrying orders. 

After dark we started and marched slowly, and all the 
next day, halting briefly for meals. Our route was by 
Guinea Station, 2 where Stonewall Jackson died, 3 and 
from thence along the railroad to Milford Point Station. 
The distance marched was something over twenty 
miles. We halted at 6.30 p.m., at Calker's Station, 
very much fatigued, but formed line of battle and spent 
the night in that array. 

The next morning, May 23d, at 5 o'clock we were 
awake, and I was sent with an engineer officer to find 
the ' 'Telegraph Road, ' ' and see if there were any traces of 
the Confederate army. I succeeded in finding the road, 
but no Confederates were in sight, and I reported 
accordingly, and upon my return had breakfast. For 
some reason, to me unknown, our march was not 
resumed until ten o'clock, when we crossed the Ta 

1 See War Map 91 (1) about two miles N. E. of the court-house. 

2 See War Map 81 (2). 

' See Life and Letters, by his wife, p. 453. 



208 Recollections of the Civil War 

River, halted and distributed rations, and then crossed 
the Polecat River and formed line of battle. 

Soon after noon we received word that Warren had 
reached the North Anna River, and was there engaged 
with the enemy. We pushed forward and reached the 
river about 7.30 p.m. The roads were bad, and march- 
ing difficult. Warren had crossed the river at Jericho 
Ford, while the Second Corps had crossed four miles 
below, at Chesterfield Bridge, and the two corps were 
trying to connect on the south bank of the river. It was 
a critical situation, because the Northern army was 
divided, while the Southern army could concentrate its 
whole strength against either wing without fear of 
reinforcement from the other wing. Heavy artillery 
firing from the north bank upon the part of the enemy's 
line which separated our wings was kept up the most 
of the night. At 3 o'clock in the morning of the 24th, 
the Sixth Corps was awakened and crossed and went 
into position on the right of the Fifth Corps, and in a 
short time were protected by a strong line of works. 

I spent most of the day in the works with orders to 
report to headquarters any signs of a movement in our 
front. On the 25th we were occupied in moving our 
lines to the left and in supporting the Fifth Corps in an 
attempt to connect with the Second Corps, and in the 
afternoon I was charged with the duty of seeing that the 
division picket line was properly posted. We had 
occasional bursts of musketry fire on the picket line. 

On the 26th, General Russell was moved from our 
right and sent to the support of Griffin (Fifth Corps), 
and we had to occupy the line he had vacated. Heavy 
showers occurred during the afternoons of the 24th, 
25th, and 26th. Orders to be ready to move were 
received at 6 p.m., and at 9 we started on our return 



North Anna and Cold Harbor 269 

across the river. Between the darkness and the mud 
it was very difficult to keep the troops in the line of 
march and over the bridges. It took us until 3 o'clock 
in the morning to reach Chesterfield Station, a distance 
of only five miles, where we halted and rations were 
issued. 

At 6 a.m. on the 27th we started anew, and after a 
slow muddy march of fifteen miles on a sultry day, we 
reached Taylor's Ford on the Pamunkey River, where 
line of battle was formed and we halted for the night. 

On May 28th we were aroused at 3 a.m. and started 
at daylight. We crossed the Pamunkey at Nelson's 
Ford, which we reached at 8 o'clock and crossed on pon- 
toons. After an hour's halt, we moved out a couple of 
miles and formed line of battle on a ridge of hills. We 
were now near Hanovertown, * which is thirty- two miles 
from Chesterfield Station and seventeen miles from 
Richmond. 

May 29th was devoted to reconnoissances in force 
by the different corps of Meade's army. The Sixth 
Corps went towards Hanover Court-House, a partially 
retrograde movement some ten miles to the northwest 
of Hanovertown. No enemy was developed, and on the 
30th, in trying to join the Second Corps to the south of 
us, we got entangled in a swamp which delayed our 
arrival until it was too late for the Second Corps to 
attack. We were a short distance from Haw's shop, 
and fourteen miles from Richmond. 

On May 31st we were in line at daylight, and, under 
General Neill's direction, I was sent to explore the 
picket line and report what was in our front. From 
this and other reports, the corps and division command- 
ers came to the conclusion that the line occupied by 

•See War Map 81 (3). 



210 Recollections of the Civil War 

the Confederates in our front was too strong by nature 
and art to be successfully attacked in front. Sheridan 
had been directed to occupy and hold Old Cold Harbor, 
and the Sixth and Eighteenth Corps were ordered from 
the right of the line at Haw's store to go to Sheridan's 
support at Old Cold Harbor. 

It was towards midnight when the corps began to 
move. The weather was oppressively hot. Our divi- 
sion was to follow the wagon trains, and about midnight 
I was sent with an orderly to watch and report when 
the trains had passed, so that we could begin our march. 
This occupied me the rest of the night, and it was day- 
light before the roads were sufficiently clear for the 
Second Division to start. 

June ist was a day of oppressive heat. The soil, 
pulverized and kicked into the air by the thousands of 
feet of horses and men who for hours were marching by 
us, made the atmosphere in the rear of the column 
almost suffocating. I never knew a more uncom- 
fortable day's march than that of our division on June 
i, 1864. The distance we had to go was fifteen miles. 
The roads were blind and unfamiliar, and the movement 
of the two advance divisions and of the trains was very 
slow and very exhausting. The prize for which we were 
contending was Old Cold Harbor, which, on account of 
the large number of roads that centred there, was a 
strategic point of much importance. 

The First and Third Divisions of the Sixth Corps 
arrived at the rendezvous about 10 o'clock in the 
morning. The Second Division was so delayed by the 
wagon trains that it was 2 o'clock before they joined 
the rest of the corps. The Eighteenth Corps had been 
marching for twenty -four hours, and had made twenty- 
five miles, and reached the rendezvous shortly after 



North Anna and Cold Harbor 211 

our arrival. By 5 o'clock our line of battle was formed. 
The Sixth Corps was on the left. General Ricketts's 
(Third) division formed the right of the corps line, 
resting on the road running from Old to New Cold 
Harbor. Russell's (First) division was on his left and 
Neill's (Second) division was in reserve, with its left 
refused to protect the left flank of the corps. North 
of the road the Eighteenth Corps was formed, with 
Devens's (Third) division on its left resting on the road 
and Brooke's (First) division extending their line 
towards the north, and Martindale's (Second) division 
in reserve, with its right refused to protect the right 
flank of that corps. 

The battle opened with artillery, and both the Sixth 
and the Eighteenth Corps advanced to the attack with 
much spirit, and succeeded in capturing the first line 
of works, but were repulsed at the second line. The 
Sixth Corps captured five hundred prisoners, and the 
Eighteenth, two hundred and fifty. But the two corps 
accomplished what they were sent there for. They 
held Old Cold Harbor. The loss of the Sixth Corps in 
killed and wounded exceeded twelve hundred men. 
The Thirty-seventh Massachusetts had one man killed 
and six wounded. Personally I was very busy carrying 
orders and reporting to General Neill the conditions 
in the different parts of the line. During the evening 
General Neill directed me to make a personal examina- 
tion of our division lines the next morning at daylight 
and to report to him, which I accordingly did. 

During the morning, the Second Corps was brought 
from the right of the line at Haw's store and placed on 
our left, a march of twelve miles. This relieved Neill's 
division, which was transferred from the reserve to the 
part of the line held by Ricketts's division on the pre- 



212 Recollections of the Civil War 

vious day. The Eighteenth Corps extended their line 
on the right to connect with Warren (Fifth Corps), 
and farther north was the Ninth Corps under Burnside, 
in rather attenuated line to cover our base at West 
Point. Sheridan, with two divisions of cavalry, cov- 
ered the left flank of the army, while Wilson, with one 
division, performed a similar service on our right flank. 
These various changes occupied the second day of June. 
An early morning attack had been planned and ordered 
by General Grant, but between the heat and the exhaus- 
ted condition of the soldiers, the army could not be 
made ready, and it was postponed until 5 o'clock in the 
evening, and then again until 4.30 the next day. 

By that time, of course, the Confederate army had 
duplicated the defences of Spottsylvania. Barlow's 
division of the Second Corps on the left of the Union 
line succeeded in taking a part of the Confederate 
line in their front. The first line, which effected the 
capture, was not supported by the second line of the 
division, and consequently had to withdraw, but they 
stubbornly fortified and held the ground closely in front. 
The other divisions of the Second Corps did not pene- 
trate the enemy's lines, although Gibbons's division made 
a stubborn fight, and the corps lost three thousand men. 

The following description of the part taken by the 
Sixth Corps is taken from vol. iv., Military Historical 
Society of Massachusetts, page 335 : 

The Sixth Corps at the appointed time instantly moved 
to the front. This corps was formed in two lines of battle, 
in the same order as on June 1 — Ricketts on the right, 
Russell in the centre, and Neill in support. These troops 
advanced with great intrepidity. All that courage and 
soldierly bearing could accomplish these gallant men did. 



North Anna and Cold Harbor 213 

At 6 a.m. news was received that Ricketts had carried the 
line in his front, but Russell was repulsed. It was up the 
gentle slope from the east face of Watt's Hill and ridge to 
the northward that Wright had to take his men. The 
gallant soldiers of the Army of Northern Virginia were too 
well intrenched to have any trouble in resisting these 
assaults. The ground over which our men advanced was 
strewn with dead, dying, and wounded, and in less than 
half an hour Wright was repulsed at all points. 

The corps lost about 1700 men in this attack. The 
Eighteenth Corps had a similar experience, and lost 
about 2000 men, and the Ninth Corps told the same 
tale. In fact, it was the culminating experience of the 
Army of the Potomac in its series of attacks on strongly 
fortified works, defended by an ably led and thereto- 
fore victorious army, fighting against invasion. They 
fought desperately, but with little hope. They lost in 
the neighborhood of ten thousand men, * and inflicted a 
loss of from a third to a half that number on their an- 
tagonists. The loss fell on the best and most seasoned 
material in our army. Furthermore, the enlistment of 
some of our three years' men now began to expire, and 
this meant an additional loss to the Army of the 
Potomac of from six to ten thousand of its choicest 
soldiers. 

It was a sober day for the tired, twice-decimated and 
whipped army, when, at eventide, they sat down and 
counted their woes. They had gained a few rods in 
their advance on Richmond, and they resolutely set to 
work to hold it. The lines were so near in front of the 
Second and Sixth Corps that there was no room for 
pickets, so the main works became fortresses, frowning 

'Fox in his Regimental Losses, at p. 541, states the loss of the 
Union army at Cold Harbor, 12,737. 



214 Recollections of the Civil War 

at each other across a narrow gulf. Elaborate earth- 
works, with covered ways and traverses for the protec- 
tion of the men, and embrasures and loopholes for our 
guns and muskets, were constructed. The firing was 
constant. If a head appeared above the parapet, the 
air in that vicinity was alive with bullets, and every 
now and then a shell would come crashing through the 
heaped-up earth. The men in front had to be con- 
stantly relieved. The air was foul with the stenches 
arising from unburied bodies of the fallen between the 
lines. 

It was a part of my daily duty to inspect the lines, 
and I well remember the sickening odors that greeted 
my nostrils on the second or third day after the battle. 
Then a truce was arranged, and for two or three hours 
the men of the two armies mingled while each attended 
to the burial of their dead. Afterwards, a series of 
approaches outside of our lines with zigzag trenches 
leading to parallels were constructed, which exercised 
the ingenuity of our engineers and interested our sol- 
diers, and drew from the enemy some mortar shells, as 
well as a good deal of ammunition, with which we were 
better acquainted. Fusillades of musketry fire at night 
now became very frequent, and kept us in constant 
expectation of an attack. 

During this period, several shells burst uncomfortably 
near our headquarters, in fact one shell went through 
Captain Binney's tent. From June 26. to 15th, the 
Thirty-seventh had five killed and thirty wounded. The 
term of service of the Second Rhode Island expired on 
June 5th, and its battalion of three companies of re-en- 
listed men was attached to the Thirty-seventh. 

Although the regiments in the front line of works were 
relieved every twenty -four hours, the}' were only retired to 



North Anna and Cold Harbor 215 

a second or third line a short distance to the rear, where 
they remained forty-eight hours, when they returned to 
the front line; yet in the rear lines they were subjected 
to so many alarms, and were so crowded behind earth- 
works, that they got very little rest, and when, on the 
afternoon of June 12th, the army received orders to be 
ready to move that night, a sense of relief seemed to 
possess every one, and for the time officers and men 
forgot the gloom that had possessed them all since 
the battle of the 3d of June, and exhibited a spirit of 
cheerfulness. 



CHAPTER XIII 
FROM COLD HARBOR TO PETERSBURG 

FROM JUNE 12 TO 17, 1 864 

|T was Sunday evening, June 12th, when we bade a 
* glad adieu to the fateful field of Cold Harbor. 
At first we moved back about a mile and waited for the 
roads to be clear of the troops which were to precede 
us, and finally got under way about ten o'clock. I was 
charged with the duty of seeing that the different 
brigades followed each other in due order. It was after 
midnight before I was able to rejoin the staff at the 
head of the column. Our progress was slow because we 
were not familiar with the country. At best, marching 
an army in the dark is slow business, and when about 
six o'clock the next morning we halted an hour for 
breakfast, we found we had progressed only ten miles. 
After our halt we started again and crossed the Rich- 
mond and York Railroad at Summit Station, 1 where 
the old soldiers of my brigade recognized a camp they 
had occupied for a fortnight two years before. 

Thence we moved by Hopkins Mill, 2 and crossed the 
Chickahominy at Jones's (or Forge) Bridge, 3 and, after 

1 War Map 20. 

3 About three miles due west of Tunstall's Station on the R. & Y. R. R. 
See War Map 92 (1). 

i Compare War Map 17 (1). 

216 



From Cold Harbor to Petersburg 217 

crossing, formed line of battle and rested for the night. 
During the twenty hours since we started, we had cov- 
ered a distance of twenty-five miles and had gone with- 
out sleep. We were very tired and slept hard that 
night: 

The next morning we were aroused very early and 
commenced our march at four o'clock, and before noon 
had reached a place in the vicinity of Charles City Court- 
House, where we were halted and went into camp. We 
pitched our headquarters tents near a very comfortable 
farmhouse. It proved to be the overseer's house on a 
large plantation. Rich farm lands lay before us in every 
direction as far as the eye could see, but they were 
sparsely cultivated. Chickens and cherries were very 
abundant, and upon these we feasted. Ex-President 
John Tyler had his country residence in this vicinity. 

After we got settled in camp, two or three of our staff 
mounted horses and went in search of the distinguished 
Virginian's home. The house was in charge of negro 
servants, who tried faithfully to keep watch and ward, 
but the soldiers soon invaded the premises, and upon 
being admitted into the rear, forced their way into the 
front of the house. It was a plain, comfortable habita- 
tion, on a slightly elevated plateau, surrounded by 
stately trees, with abundant bookshelves and many 
books, and indications of literary work by its recent 
occupants. Some books were carried off by the soldiers, 
and not a few letters from prominent leaders in the 
Confederacy to the ex-President were discovered and 
appropriated. Aside from this, I do not think much 
harm was done. The next day the place was protected 
by a guard. 

We were encamped about a mile from Wilcox Landing l 

1 South of the Charles City Court-House. See War Map 92 (1 ). 



218 Recollections of the Civil War 

on the James River, which was selected by our engineers 
for the location of a pontoon bridge, the construction of 
which they commenced on the afternoon of our arrival 
and completed at midnight. It consisted of 104 pon- 
toon boats, each anchored in its place in the river and 
connected by beams, and the whole steadied by being 
connected at intervals with larger boats, also anchored. 
It was 2100 feet long. The Second Corps arrived at 
Wilcox Landing on Monday evening, June 13th, and, 
on Wednesday morning at daylight, they and their 
artillery had been transported on boats to the south 
side of the James. After daylight, the bridge was used 
to transfer the immense trains with the remainder of 
artillery and the cavalry from the north to the south 
side of the river. This occupied all day Wednesday, 
and a good part of Thursday, the 16th of June. 

Meanwhile, we had moved our camp to the river bank, 
and were feasting on a fine view from the bluff over- 
looking the river and the surrounding country. During 
the morning of the 16th, the Fifth Corps was carried 
across the river on transports above and below the 
bridge. Finally orders came to embark the First and 
Third Divisions of the Sixth Corps on transports, and 
to land them at City Point, while the Second Division 
was to follow the teams and the artillery. 

We finally crossed on the bridge at seven o'clock in 
the evening, and by a night march followed the trains 
towards Petersburg. It was a hot night. The dust 
beaten into powder by the hosts of horses and men 
ahead of us filled the air with a choking, stifling mixture 
that was hardly breathable. Our only relief was to 
wash out our mouths with water from our canteens; 
and unfortunately the supply of this was both poor 
and short. But after a march of sixteen miles, morning 



From Cold Harbor to Petersburg 219 

found us in the vicinity of City Point. We expected 
here to rejoin the other two divisions of the Sixth Corps, 
but they were detained by General Butler. We rested 
a couple of hours and pushed forward, and after the 
issue of rations, joined the Ninth and Second Corps. 

At four o'clock in the afternoon we moved forward 
and relieved the Eighteenth Corps in the front line of 
battle. Meanwhile, a most unfortunate misunder- 
standing of orders by the commanders of the Second and 
Eighteen Corps had resulted, during the afternoon and 
evening of June 15th, in the loss of an opportunity to 
capture Petersburg. The Eighteenth Corps, on leav- 
ing Cold Harbor, marched back to White House, and 
from there were transferred in transports down the 
York River and up the James to Bermuda Hundred, 
where they landed, and on June 14th they crossed the 
Appomattox River on pontoons, seven miles below 
Petersburg. 

No wonder that Lee was greatly mystified by these 
movements of General Grant, and as his particular 
anxiety was the safety of Richmond, he was constantly 
on the lookout for an attack at some point on the 
defences of that city. He never dreamed of an attempt 
by Grant to capture Petersburg by way of reducing 
Richmond, until Wednesday morning, when word was 
brought to him that the Federal army was advancing 
on Petersburg from Bermuda Hundred, and that the 
Army of the Potomac was crossing the James River. 
During Wednesday the defences of Petersburg were 
occupied by less than five thousand Confederate sol- 
diers, while the Eighteenth Corps was all day within 
five miles of the heart of the city, and the Second Corps 
could easily have joined the Eighteenth Corps by four 
o'clock in the afternoon of that day, while the earliest 



220 Recollections of the Civil War 

reinforcements from Lee's army did not reach the 
Petersburg lines until sunset. 

Failure to furnish rations to the Second Corps, as 
promised, in time for an early start in its march to 
Petersburg on Wednesday morning, together with a 
blind order that did not inform General Hancock that 
he was expected to capture Petersburg that afternoon, 
and an inaccurate map that carried him away from 
the intended rendezvous, combined to delay his final 
arrival until it was too late to attack. During the 
night Lee's army had begun to arrive, and the chance 
to capture by assault had vanished. 

It looks very much as if Grant and Meade, one or 
both of them, on that Wednesday morning failed to 
see and comprehend the possible capture of Peters- 
burg before nightfall, as clearly as they did later, when 
they learned how completely Lee was deceived by 
Grant's movement across the James, and how small 
was the force in front of Petersburg during the whole 
of that day. When they learned these facts they, of 
course, recognized that they had lost an opportunity 
to capture Petersburg, apparently through the delay of 
the Second Corps in arriving at its destination. For 
this they were inclined to blame General Hancock. 
Then the facts about the delayed rations and the imper- 
fect order and misleading map came to light. But 
Hancock was sensitive and demanded an official inves- 
tigation, and General Grant responded as follows : 

The reputation of the Second Corps and its commander 
is so high, both with the public and in the army, that an 
investigation could not add to it. It cannot be tarnished 
by newspaper articles or scribblers. No official despatch 
has ever been sent from these headquarters which by any 



From Cold Harbor to Petersburg 221 

construction could cast blame on the Second Corps or its 
commander for the part they have played in this campaign. 

A doubt has occurred to me in this connection 
whether Petersburg would have been captured on 
that Wednesday if rations had been issued and the 
Second Corps had started as ordered, and if General 
Hancock's map had located Harrison's Creek in the 
right place, and his marching orders had indicated 
an attack that afternoon with the support of the 
Eighteenth Corps. The weather was oppressively 
hot. The Second Corps was exhausted by its long 
march of thirty-five miles from Cold Harbor to Wilcox 
Landing on Sunday night and all day Monday, and 
again had no opportunity to sleep on Tuesday night, 
when it was being transported across the James. The 
corps was then expected to march seventeen miles 
through a new and unfamiliar country over dusty roads, 
and on approaching Petersburg to reconnoitre through 
a country intersected by deep ravines, more or less 
protected by woods and several lines of hastily con- 
structed entrenchments, which the Eighteenth Corps 
had already spent two days in exploring and attacking 
with indifferent success. The men would have been 
too tired, and the time too short before dark, to accom- 
plish anything. 



CHAPTER XIV 
THE RICHMOND CAMPAIGN— PETERSBURG 

FROM JUNE 17 TO JULY 7, 1 864 

Note. — The introductions to the chapters in brackets, the notes 
marked "C. S.," and the conclusion, were contributed, by the author's 
college classmate and lifelong friend, the Reverend Calvin Stebbins, who 
has bestowed much time and labor upon all parts of the work. — W. S. T. 

[Introduction. — With the arrival of the Second Division 
of the Sixth Corps at Petersburg on the afternoon of June 
17th, the story of his army experience as written out by 
Colonel Tyler comes to an end. What follows is made up of 
letters written at the time, and extracts from his diary. 
This diary he had written out himself in the form of a card 
catalogue, giving in chronological order the events of every 
day, with occasional reference to official reports to assist 
him in writing his story. The reader will miss the reflec- 
tions of the historical student writing in the quiet of after 
years, but without doubt will find compensation in the 
freshness and vigor of letters written in the hurry and 
excitement of a soldier's life while in active service. 

Perhaps it may be well to describe the situation on the 
17th of June, 1864. x The objective of the Army of the 

1 For the main line of the enemy's works before Petersburg, June 18th, 
see War Map 105 (7). I cannot locate the road by which the Second 
Division of the Sixth Corps came up from City Point to Petersburg on 
the 17th of June, 1864. But the War Maps 65 (1) and (9) show the 
route taken by the Eighteenth Corps and the works they captured. The 
Second Division relieved them in the lines on their arrival. It should 



Richmond Campaign — Petersburg 223 

Potomac, after the withdrawal from Cold Harbor on the 
1 2th of June, was the communications south of Richmond. 
The lieutenant-general was a firm believer in the utility of 
railroads in war, and felt that if he could get possession of 
the railroads south of Richmond, the position of the Rebel 
army would be untenable. By a masterly movement, he 
withdrew his army from Cold Harbor, and swung it around 
to Petersburg, some twenty miles south of Richmond. 

Petersburg stands on the south bank of the Appomattox 
River. The general course of the river is from west to 
east, but a little below Petersburg it turns to the north, 
and in a few miles takes an easterly direction and flows into 
the James just above City Point. Petersburg was a rail- 
road centre of great importance. It was connected by rail- 
roads with Richmond, City Point, and Norfolk. The 
terminals of the last two railroads were already in the hands 
of the Union army. But the Weldon Railroad, connecting 
with the Carolinas and with tidewater at Wilmington ; the 
South Side Railroad, connecting with Lynchburg and the 
Valley of the Shenandoah ; and the Richmond and Danville 
Railroad, which intersected the South Side Railroad at 
Burkeville, were all in the hands of the enemy, and Peters- 
burg was connected on the south and west with the whole 
Southern Confederacy. There were also several wagon 
roads of importance which are often mentioned in the story 
of the siege. There was the Jerusalem Plank Road running 
two or three miles east of the Weldon Railroad and parallel 
to it; and along the westerly side of the Weldon Railroad 
was the Halifax Road running in the same direction; and 
still farther on, coming in from the southwest, was the Boyd- 

be remembered that, owing to imperfect maps, General Grant made a 
mistake in his order to General Hancock of the Second Corps, ordering 
him to take a position west of Harrison's Creek. This rivulet was a local 
affair, and no one knew anything about it. When found, it was within 
the enemy's lines. The Second Division was at first on the east side of 
the creek to the extreme left. The position they occupied may also be 
seen on War Map 77 (2). — C. S. 



224 Recollections of the Civil War 

ton Plank Road. Over these roads to the west of the 
Weldon were hauled large quantities of produce for Lee's 
army. For forty-two weeks to come these roads and rail- 
roads will be the object of contention. l 

We may now look at the situation from another point of 
view. The Confederate government had appointed General 
Beauregard to the command of the military department of 
North Carolina and Southern Virginia. He saw at once 
the importance of Petersburg, and divined with surer 
instinct than his chief what movement General Grant was 
likely to make after Cold Harbor, and at once strengthened 
the fortifications about Petersburg, which consisted at this 
time of a series of redoubts running from the Appomattox 
below the city to the river above, a distance of about 
seven miles. On the east side, where the Union army was 
likely to approach, was a line of thirteen redoubts on 
commanding hills about two miles from the city, and run- 
ning out some three miles from the river. These redoubts 
were connected by infantry parapets with high profiles and 
ditches. They were very strong and a few men could 
defend them against many times their number. 

It was not General Grant's intention that the Army of 
the Potomac should have anything to do with the capture 
of Petersburg. Before leaving Cold Harbor, he sent Gen- 
eral Smith with the Eighteenth Corps to White House, and 
then by water to Bermuda Hundred, where his command 
was reinforced to about eighteen thousand men, from the 
Army of the James. At 1 .30 on the afternoon of June 1 5th, 
General Smith, in pursuance of orders, came upon the outer 
defences of Petersburg, and at seven in the evening ordered 
an assault which was successful; but it was found that in 
the rear of the line captured were some heavy profile works, 
which kept up a galling artillery fire. The Second Division 
of the Eighteenth Corps (colored) was ordered to carry the 
works by assault, which they gallantly did, capturing five 

' See War Maps 93 (1), 40 (1), 17 (1), 56 (1). 



Richmond Campaign — Petersburg 225 

of the redans, Nos. 7, 8, 9, io, and 11, » with guns, prisoners 
and ammunition. 

The way into Petersburg was now open. It was late, 
but there was a full moon, and there was no great risk of a 
disastrous defeat, for at 6.30 that evening General Hancock 
came up with two divisions of the Second Corps. But 
General Smith had not the courage to follow up his success 
and seize the prize within his reach, and deferred the advance 
until the next morning. In the meantime, troops had been 
poured into Petersburg, and a new line of fortifications had 
been built. Speaking of this delay, General Grant, who 
felt that he had made ample provision for the work to be 
done, says, " I do not think there is any doubt that Peters- 
burg itself could have been carried without much loss ; . . . 
This would have given us control of both the Weldon and 
South Side Railroads." {Personal Memoirs, ii., 298). He 
was hurrying forward troops in case of disaster, but re- 
mained at Bermuda Hundred to be there in person to direct 
operations in case Lee should throw his whole army upon 
Butler. At ten o'clock on the morning of the 16th, General 
Burnside, with the Ninth Corps, came up and took position 
on the left. At three o'clock on the morning of the 1 7th, the 
First and Second Brigades of the Second Division, under 
General Potter, dashed forward, and in a most gallant man- 
ner carried two redoubts, capturing guns, prisoners, colors, 
and a large quantity of small arms. There was much hard 
fighting all day. 2 

In the afternoon, General Neill, commanding the Second 
Division of the Sixth Corps, sent the assistant adjutant- 
general of the Army of the Potomac the following despatch : 
"June 17, 1864—2 p.m. Am at the fingerpost pointing to 
Ninth Corps, on main road, with my Second Division, 
Artillery Brigade, Colonel Tompkins, Sixth Corps, and 
proper complement of ammunition wagons and ambulances 



1 See War Map 105 (7). * O. R., xl., pt. 1, p. 545. 

is 



226 Recollections of the Civil War 

of the corps. My men have been marching all night and 
morning." 1 

In reply to this despatch, a staff officer was sent from head- 
quarters to conduct General Neill and his command to a 
place not indicated in the report. But at 4 p.m., General 
Meade ordered him to relieve the troops of the Eighteenth 
Corps, and, at 11 p.m., inquired if he had obeyed the order, 
and received reply that his division was in line of battle, 
and had relieved Brooks's division, Eighteenth Corps; was 
unable to do more. 2 

It will be remembered that Captain Tyler was at this 
time acting on the staff of General Neill, and that the 
Thirty-seventh Regiment was in the Fourth Brigade of this 
division. Before the Army of the Potomac had crossed 
the James, they received rumors that General Smith with 
the Eighteenth Corps had carried the works before Peters- 
burg, but on arriving there they found the old enemy con- 
fronting them. Let us now turn to the diary. — C. S.] 

AT about 2 o'clock, Friday, June 17th, we moved 
forward until within a mile of General Smith's line 
of battle at Mrs. Bailey's house. At 4 o'clock we relieved 
the Eighteenth Corps. Our line ran along the crest of 
a line of hills. The Ninth, Second, and Fifth Corps 
charged to the left of us and drove the enemy back 
towards the city to our left. The Thirty-seventh 
started at 9 p.m., and moved to the vicinity of the 
Jordan house, 3 but were not engaged that night. 

Saturday, June 18th. An attack was ordered at 4 
A.M. ; the line was formed and advanced to find that the 
enemy had evacuated their first line. We formed for 
an attack on their second line. At 12 m. advanced a 
half mile and were checked. General Wheaton (First 

1 0. R., xl., pt. 2, p. 132. *id„ p. 133. 

J See War Map 40 (1). 



Richmond Campaign — Petersburg 227 

Brigade, Second Division, Sixth Corps) on the front 
line advanced to a point within three-fourths of a mile 
of the city. We could see the church spires very plainly. 
About 11 o'clock, the Thirty-seventh recrossed the 
railroad [the railroad to City Point], occupied the 
vacant works and connected with Wheaton's brigade 
on their right. Moved forward and attacked at 12 m. 
Got mixed with Wheaton's brigade. At 3 o'clock, 
advanced some four hundred yards, but were not sup- 
ported by the Second Corps on our left. The Thirty- 
seventh lost four men killed. J 

Sunday, June 19th. Up at 5 o'clock, and made a tour 
of the lines. Found things quiet. We occupy a hill 
which overlooks the plain and commands a fine view 
of the city. General Grant and staff and our corps 
commanders have all been over here at times during the 
afternoon. Brady photographed Meade and his staff. 2 
The First and Third Divisions of the Sixth Corps which 
had been with Butler came up this evening. The Ver- 
mont Brigade relieved the First and Fourth this evening 

1 The location of the Second Division at 7.15 a.m. is indicated by the 
despatch of an aide-de-camp from General Neill's headquarters to Gen- 
eral Meade: "General Neill's advance has reached Harrison's Creek, 
[See War Map 65 (9)] and is extended along it, with his right running 
some distance along the Appomattox. The enemy are seen in position, 
with their left on the Appomattox. Our force is still on the north bank 
of the creek." (O.R., xl., pt. 2, p. 191.) The battles of the 17th and 
1 8th were fought by General Meade, and were terrible battles on account 
of the persistency and the losses. General Grant, writing from City 
Point at 10 p.m., says: "I am perfectly satisfied that all has been done 
that could be done, and that the assaults to-day were called for by all 
the appearances and information that could be obtained. Now we will 
rest the men and use the spade for their protection until a new vein 
can be struck." (O. R., xl., pt. 2, p. 157.) — C. S. 

2 Brady's photographs have recently been published by the Review 
of Reviews Company in ten volumes, entitled Photographic History of 
the Civil War. (1911). 



228 Recollections of the Civil War 

in the lines. The term of service of the Tenth Massa- 
chusetts expired, and they started for home. One 
hundred and sixty men whose terms had not expired 
were temporarily attached to the Thirty-seventh. The 
Thirty-seventh to-day lost one man killed. At dark 
we were relieved by the Vermont Brigade. 

Letter to his mother, June ig, 1864: 

I don't know how long I shall be able to write to you this 
morning, but I will begin, and write until I am interrupted, 
and then send what I have written. 

Last Thursday night we crossed the James and marched 
all night, and the next day guarded the trains until 1 p.m., 
when we came upon the Tenth Army Corps, and in the 
course of the afternoon we relieved the Eighteenth Army 
Corps. The other two divisions went by transports to 
City Point, and were detailed by General Butler at Bermuda 
Hundred. So that was the way I spent my birthday. It 
was awfully hot and I felt about as badly as a man could and 
live. 

We got our troops into a magnificent position and 
were not engaged in the attack that night, so that I slept 
and felt better. Saturday we commenced fighting at four 
o'clock in the morning, and kept at it at intervals all day. 
We gained about a mile, and took some pretty strong works 
without much resistance, and evening found us where we 
could look right into the city of Petersburg, some three 
quarters of a mile distant. Our regiment was not engaged, 
and I think lost no men. Yesterday brought me two 
letters from home, the latest written last Sunday and 
Monday from you. They were very welcome, I as- 
sure you. You ask me about General Neill. He is a 
very agreeable gentleman, but is not a religious man. 
My relations with him are very pleasant, and I am on 
pleasant terms with the staff. My duties are not very 
arduous, consisting mostly of carrying orders and seeing 






Richmond Campaign — Petersburg 229 

them executed, and the various duties of an aide-de- 
camp. 

General Meade has just been here sitting in my tent for 
half an hour, and consequently I had to vacate. I heard 
him talk, but was not introduced to him. He with several 
other general officers was busy talking over military matters. 

My Sundays have usually been very quiet, but to-day it 
has been an incessant hubbub at our headquarters. The 
general officers of the army have congregated here for con- 
sultation, consequently our tents have been crowded with 
staff officers. The coast, however, is now almost clear, and 
we are enjoying comparative quiet. Things are generally 
quiet on the lines, and the men seem to be resting. 

So we have a checkered career out here in the army. 
All sorts of experiences attend us. The men, however, 
look rather haggard after their terrible campaigning expe- 
rience, and they don't have the same amount of spirit they 
had when they started out. The charges made yesterday 
lacked spirit, and the organizations of the army are so 
thinned out that it is not to be wondered at. I must close. 

Monday, June 20th. Visited the lines in the mist this 
morning. No changes. About 9 o'clock the enemy 
commenced throwing shells from the hills across the 
Appomattox on our right flank, which burst uncom- 
fortably near our headquarters, wounding two of our 
soldiers. We moved to corps headquarters and the 
shells followed us. Captain Young had a narrow 
escape. At night we were ordered to relieve the Second 
Division of the Second Corps. * 

1 At 8 o'clock on the morning of the 20th, the right of the Sixth Corps 
rested on the Appomattox. Two divisions, the First and Second, were 
in line, and the Third (Ricketts's) was in reserve. At 8.30, General 
Wright received orders from General Meade to relieve one of Hancock's 
divisions, and hold from the Hare house to the river. The Hare house 
stood just to the right of where Fort Stedman was afterwards built. One 
division was to watch the river to the right and he was ordered to 



230 Recollections of the Civil War 

Letter to his classmate, M. F. Dickinson, June 20, 1864: 
Your welcome letter reached me yesterday and the 
same mail brought me one from Ruf [Captain Rufus P. 
Lincoln], so I had a double portion of pleasure. If ever a 
man would appreciate letters, it is at such a time as this, 
in the midst of a severe campaign with all its fatigues and 
anxieties upon you. Then when you feel downhearted and 
almost discouraged, there is nothing like a friendly letter to 
cheer you up. We are here within a mile of the centre of 
Petersburg, apparently full tilt once more against the Army 
of Northern Virginia. We can at any time most certainly 
destroy the city, and the possibility is that we could take 
the city, but whether we could occupy it after we have pos- 
sessed ourselves of it is another question. The trouble 
seems to be just now that their cannon on the crest on the 
other side of the Appomattox command everything on this 
side. So what we have to do is to wait and see. We had a 
fierce little fight on Saturday, and drove the Rebs more 
than a mile, occupying works really much stronger than 
any that I have seen since we left Washington. They were 
not fully defended, and we lost very few men in the assault. 
The works and position that the Eighteenth Corps took 
from Beauregard, however, on the Thursday previous were 
magnificent. I have never seen better, and properly 
defended, the whole Army of the Potomac could not have 
taken them by assault. But fortunately for us we had 
militia to contend with, and gained an easy victory. The 
darkies are as thick as pebble stones around us, and it 
would amuse you to see some of our big talkers, stragglers 
(members of Haversack's Brigade, as we call them), 
standing in the midst of these groups of negroes, and telling 
them all sorts of frightful yarns. The darkies are growing 



intrench as strongly as possible. At 8.30 in the evening, General 
Wright reported that the corps had taken the position indicated and 
that a working party was ordered for 4 o'clock the next morning to com- 
plete a work for guns. — C. S. (SeeO. R., xl.,pt. 2, p. 249.) 



Richmond Campaign — Petersburg 231 

pale by contact with the Army of the Potomac. I really 
believe they would demoralize them (the darkies) if they 
stayed here long. A negro was hanged near our headquar- 
ters this morning, by order of the President, for an attempted 
rape. It drew so large a crowd that the Rebs commenced 
shelling. Consequently two of our men here at head- 
quarters got wounded. The Tenth Massachusetts has 
started on its homeward trip this morning. This leaves 
the Thirty-seventh the last representative of our brigade. 
We have detachments of from fifty to one hundred men 
each from other regiments, but our whole brigade to-day 
numbers 407 men. The Thirty-seventh has, I believe, 
only a little over 200. We started out in this campaign 
with over 600 strong. Last week was Class Day at Am- 
herst. How I should have liked to be there and enjoy it 
with you and Ruf. Binney has just perpetrated a joke 
that I must put on paper for your edification. He says 
that the works of Shelley are prevalent among us these 
days. They are just bringing up some 30-pounder Parrott 
guns to be mounted on some of these commanding crests. 
So I suppose we shall have music now. ... I should like 
to see you for a little while. How we would talk ! x 

•After the ineffectual assaults of the 18th, there was little fighting 
for several days, although there was a good deal of firing especially at 
night to prevent surprise. The Union lines were extended to the Jeru- 
salem Plank Road, and so strengthened that they could be held by a 
few men. Butler was ordered to extend his lines to the point on the 
Appomattox held by the Sixth Corps. 

On the 2 1st, General Grant intimated to General Meade that he 
desired to envelop Petersburg, as far as possible without attacking forti- 
fications, and without bringing on a battle unless the enemy exposed 
himself equally; he suggested a movement to the left of Warren who, 
with the Fifth Corps, held the left of the Union army. Arrangements 
were immediately made for a movement to the left. The Sixth and 
Second Corps were relieved by the Ninth, and the Eighteenth and 
Second were ordered to advance to the left of the Fifth Corps and pivot 
on that, keeping its right in connection with the left of the Fifth. The 
Sixth Corps was to pass in the rear of the Second and connect with its 
left. The country through which the Sixth had to move was densely 



232 Recollections of the Civil War 

Tuesday, June 21st. Very hot. President Lincoln 
rode by. 

Letter of the 23d says: 

I commenced a letter to you Tuesday p.m., but was called 
away to go to corps headquarters. There we found Presi- 
dent Lincoln and Generals Grant and Meade being seren- 
aded by a band of music. That afternoon General Neill 
was relieved of his command in the Sixth Corps, and ordered 
to report to the Eighteenth Corps. He invited me to 
remain on his staff, and said that I should go with him 
anyway, but on talking to Colonel Edwards, I found that 
he was very much opposed to it. So after staying over 
night with the general, I declined. 

General Neill was a most agreeable officer to serve 
with, very gentlemanly and considerate of everybody, 
an experienced officer and an intelligent man. The 
Thirty-seventh lost one man to-day, F. B. Crocker, of 
Company F. Relieved by Martindale's division and 
moved to the left in an attempt to capture the Weldon 
and South Side Railroads. Slow and tedious. No 
sleep for two nights. The Second and Sixth Corps 
were directed to move independently. 

Wednesday, June 226.. Spent a restless night. Bade 
General Neill good-by, and rode back to rejoin the corps 
five or six miles on the left of the line. General Whea- 
ton invited me to retain my position on his staff while 
he was in command. The Second Corps was repulsed 
while attempting to extend our lines to the left, and we 
retreated a short distance. At 7 p.m. we advanced a 

wooded with a thick underbrush, and as progress was slow, General 
Meade became impatient and ordered the corps to move independently. 
As a result they became separated, and the enemy taking advantage of 
it, attacked the unprotected left flank of the Second Corps, capturing 
four guns and seventeen hundred prisoners. — C. S. 



Richmond Campaign — Petersburg 233 

half mile beyond our original position early in the day. 
We protected the left flank. The Second Corps, 
Gibbon's division, lost 1700 men and four guns. Great 
confusion prevailed at headquarters. The Thirty- 
seventh was on the extreme left of the corps. Two com- 
panies, F and G, were sent to guard a bridge running 
across a swamp. 

Thursday, June 23d. The order to attack at 3.30 
was for some reason postponed. T We lay in a scorching 
hot sun all day. Captain Beattie with sixty sharp- 
shooters and a battalion of infantry (Fourth and 
Eleventh Vermont) penetrated one and one-half miles 
to the Weldon Railroad. At 2 p.m. he was driven back, 
and A. P. Hill's corps went around our left flank and 
captured 500 men from the Vermont Brigade, and 
killed and wounded quite a number more. The fight 
was sharp while it lasted. Captain William C. Tracy, 
a brother of J. Evarts Tracy, was killed. I was out on 
the field with Major Long, assistant adjutant-general of 
our division, endeavoring to bring up reinforcements. 2 

Letter to his mother, June 26, 1864: 

This awfully hot Sunday morning I am going to try to 
write a letter home. We have been sweltering in this hot 
Virginia sun with the thermometer at 102 in the shade now 
for three days. It seems as if the perspiration runs in 
streams all the time and brings no relief. Wednesday and 
Thursday they kept us trotting back and forth in line of 

1 It was found that the enemy had withdrawn. — C. S. 

2 See O. R., xl., pt. 1, pp. 495, 502, and 503. Captain William C. 
Tracy of the Fourth Vermont was a man of great courage. General 
L. A. Grant in his report of the day's doings says: "His dead body was 
found on the field next day, surrounded by the muskets of his men lying 
on the ground, giving evidence that he had rallied around him the men 
of his command, and that they surrendered only when their gallant 
leader had fallen," p. 503. — C. S. 



234 Recollections of the Civil War 

battle over a mile of ground according as our flank was 
menaced or the enemy disappeared in our front. In the 
fight of Thursday afternoon, they came down on our flank 
and gobbled up some five hundred men belonging to our 
splendid Vermont Brigade, which formed a very heavy 
skirmish line in front of the left flank of the army. They 
cut through the Third Division skirmish line on our right 
and got to the rear of the Vermont boys and took a good 
portion of two battalions. This was very provoking, as we 
probably inflicted little loss in return, and we were afraid to 
rush out to attack them, as we were formed in a single line 
and there was danger of their turning our flank. So we 
had to lie still and let them gobble up our men, and it was 
done so quietly that we hardly knew we had suffered any 
loss. ... I ought to be happy that I am well and able to 
endure, and have been saved from sickness and wounds 
during this terrible campaign. 

Tuesday, June 28th. I played chess with Stevens. 

A letter of this date says: 

I thought I would write you a line before I leave division 
headquarters. General Getty has arrived this afternoon 
and takes immediate command of the division, and as he has 
a sufficient staff of his own, there is no longer any need of my 
service here, so I am going back to the regiment. I enjoyed 
my experience of staff life very much, and it was profitable 
to me in several ways. It improved me physically, and 
broadened my view of military life. I made acquaintances 
and saw the army officers of higher rank that I never should 
have seen or known had I remained on duty with the 
regiment. I was enabled to go through this terribly severe 
campaign with comparative comfort, and I am not sure 
that I could have stood it had I been on foot and in line. 

The same letter relates that I was expecting to be 
very busy at the end of the month, being also the end 



Richmond Campaign — Petersburg 235 

of the quarter on July 1st, when I should have both my 
monthly and quarterly returns to prepare and forward. 

At the house where we are staying now, there are any 
quantity of old family documents scattered around, and 
the other day one of the officers picked up a deed of this 
place dated 1665, and the bargain was that it should be 
paid for in tobacco. So you see that we are among the 
early settlements of Virginia. 

Letter to his father, July 1, 1864: 

Well, I am sitting here beneath a wide-spreading mul- 
berry tree somewhere in Virginia, the exact locality it would 
be hard to describe. We are some three miles lower on the 
railroad than we were the last time I wrote. Tuesday 
afternoon I returned to the regiment on the arrival of Gen- 
eral Getty. Wednesday I took an early start and went 
down to our old camp at Petersburg to get some of my 
company papers out of my valise. I saw Binney and Gen- 
eral Neill. General Neill is very busy organizing the 
inspector-general's department in the Eighteenth Corps, 
and Binney is helping him. The general seemed very glad 
to see me, although I only saw him for a moment. . . . 

Well, I got back to our camp about 2 p.m., and in about 
an hour we were under orders to go to the support of 
Wilson's cavalry. x So off we started, and went to Reams 
Station, seven miles. Formed line of battle, stayed there 

1 General Wilson, with about 5000 horses and twelve guns, had been sent 
on the 2 1st of June around the right of the enemy to destroy the Danville 
and South Side Railroads. He did a hard bit of work. He marched 
between the 21st of June and the 1st of July 335 miles, and destroyed 
more than sixty miles of railway, every railroad station, depot, water- 
tank, woodpile, bridge, trestle-work, tool-house, and sawmill, from 
fifteen miles of Petersburg to the Roanoke River. But he was inter- 
cepted on his return by a force he could not break through at Reams 
Station, and the Sixth Corps was sent to his assistance, but arrived too 
late as he was obliged to find another way out. (O. R., xl., pt. 1, p. 
620.)— C. S. 



236 Recollections of the Civil War 

yesterday and tore up some four miles of track, and last 
night returned to this place, where we have been lying 
to-day. It is awfully hot this afternoon. I am at present 
acting as major of the regiment under Lieutenant Colonel 
Montague, and am very pleasantly situated. I have no 
news to tell from the boys, except that they are all well — 
what there is left of them. 1 

Saturday, July 2d. Mother writes that she has inau- 
gurated and is preparing a festival for July 4th for the 
benefit of the soldiers. They are to have tableaux, 
ice cream, gypsies and fortune-telling ; music and sports 
at the gymnasium, and suppers at the hall under the 
church. All the town is aiding. 

Sunday, July 3d. Spent a quiet day. Hot and suffo- 
cating. Service in the evening after dress parade. 

Monday, July 4th. Very quiet all the morning. 
Paid in the afternoon. Finished my muster rolls this 
morning. 

Tuesday, July 5th. We started to build a new line of 
works, in front of our old line, with a very strong heavy 
relief. Mother writes results of festival to date $437 — 
expects $112 more will come in. 2 

1 An outline of the movements of the Second Division from June 12 th 
to July 9th is given in the report of General Getty, O. R. xl., pt. i, 
p. 494. 

2 The line of works here referred to may be seen on War Map 77 (2). 
It is the upper dark line running east and west and connecting the 
fortifications in front with those in the rear. Bowen at page 346 says 
that the brigade at this time mustered about five hundred of officers and 
men. 

For some days General Wright had been reporting to headquarters 
that nothing of importance had transpired in front of the lines of the 
Sixth Corps, and it is no wonder that under the circumstances the soldier 
would find little to record. But at noon on the 5th, General Grant 
informed General Meade that the enemy under General Early, who had 
been advancing down the Shenandoah Valley, had arrived at the Balti- 



Richmond Campaign — Petersburg 237 

Wednesday, July 6th. An order was issued that the 
Fourth Brigade of the Second Division be discontinued, 
and that the Thirty-seventh, with attached companies 
of the Seventh and Tenth Massachusetts, be trans- 
ferred to the Third Brigade, First Division. 1 

The Third Brigade, First Division, was composed of 
the Forty-ninth, Eighty-second, and One Hundred 
Nineteenth Pennsylvania, Fifth Wisconsin Battalion, 
Twenty-third Pennsylvania Veterans and Thirty- 
seventh Massachusetts with attachments. Colonel 
Edwards commanded the brigade. This was the 
brigade that was originally commanded by General 
Hancock, and consisted of the Forty-third New York, 
Forty-ninth Pennsylvania, Fifth Wisconsin, and Sixth 
Maine. Under him it achieved distinction at the 
battle of Williamsburg, May 5, 1862, where it 
defeated the Confederate column commanded by two of 
the ablest generals in the Army of Northern Virginian- 
Hill and Early. It was one of the brigades making up 
the famous light division of the Sixth Corps. In No- 
vember, 1863, this brigade, under the command of Gen- 
eral D. A. Russell, charged over the parapet of the fort 
at Rappahannock Station, and with bayonets and 
muskets used as clubs, compelled the surrender of 
seventeen hundred men. When General Upton was 
allowed to select twelve regiments from the Sixth 
Corps for his column of attack on the Salient at Spott- 
sylvania on the 10th of May, 1864, four of them were 
selected from the Third Brigade, to wit: The Fifth 

more and Ohio Railroad, and ordered him to send a division of good 
troops to Baltimore. General Meade at once ordered General Wright 
to send a division of the Sixth Corps, and he selected the Third Division, 
General Ricketts, which started immediately for City Point. — C. S. 
1 O. R. xl., pt. 3, p. 46. 



238 Recollections of the Civil War 

Wisconsin, Sixth Maine, and the One Hundred Forty- 
eighth and the One Hundred Nineteenth Pennsylvania. 
Thursday, July 7th. This morning at six o'clock we 
moved into our new camp, in a beautiful piece of woods. 
Our headquarters are the best of the season. We 
donned the red cross on our caps and thought to have a 
little rest. 

The same day he wrote to his brother: 

Colonel Montague has gone to attend a court martial, 
and I have seated myself at his table and am going to take 
my ease with my pen. Since my return to the regiment I 
have been kept pretty busy making up back accounts, 
forwarding my papers, etc. We have been building a new 
line of rifle-pits, or rather breastworks, and now, just as we 
are ready to occupy them, the order comes transferring 
us to the First Division. 

We have been expecting this for some time, and it gives 
Colonel Edwards command of General Russell's old brigade, 
the brigade that did so splendidly at Rappahannock Station. 
General Russell now commands the division, and we are all 
great admirers of him and willing to be under his command, 
although we have the greatest confidence in General 
Getty. . . . 

We have a mighty stiff medical director on our corps, 
and yesterday he came out with an order driving the Sani- 
tary and Christian Commissions from the corps. I think 
it is outrageous. They have been very zealous in furnish- 
ing the troops with all sorts of vegetables and many other 
things of which there is the greatest need, and now for him, 
through a mere whim, to drive them away, I think is too 
bad. I have been living on lemonade for the past fortnight. 
There is nothing that tastes so good, but as we have to buy 
lemons at sutler's prices, it would ruin us to keep it up a 
great while. One week from to-morrow is Commencement 
at Amherst. How I should like to be present to hear you 



Richmond Campaign — Petersburg 239 

speak ! We are having very agreeable rest and were surely 
in need of it. 

The Third Division of our corps started this morning 
for Baltimore. It reminded us of our start a little later 
than this a year ago for New York. We almost wished we 
were in their place. But it would not be strange if they 
found something to do up there before their return. No 
telling! 



CHAPTER XV 
TO THE DEFENCE OF WASHINGTON 

JULY 8 TO 24, 1864 

[Introduction. — While General Grant was engaged with 
the siege of Petersburg, things were going very badly in the 
Valley of the Shenandoah. This valley was of great impor- 
tance to the enemy. It furnished their army with an almost 
unlimited supply of grain, beeves, sheep, and horses, and it af- 
forded a convenient avenue for the invasion of the North ; and, 
in case of defeat, its mountain barriers on the east afforded 
protection to a retreating column whether great or small. 
It had been the scene of many a humiliation to the national 
arms. General Sigel had been appointed to the command 
of the Department of West Virginia, and when the great 
campaign began by order of the lieutenant-general along all 
lines on the 4th of May, Sigel was already advancing up the 
valley; but he was disastrously defeated on the 15th of May 
at Newmarket. He was relieved at once, and General 
Hunter was selected for the command. Hunter received 
his orders from General Grant to advance to Gordonsville, 
Charlottesville, or Lynchburg, and to destroy the railroads 
and the James River Canal. Hunter advanced rapidly and 
made a very brilliant campaign, but was tempted to go to 
Lynchburg, a point of very great importance, where he 
was confronted by a large force drawn from Lee's army. 
He had not ammunition enough to risk a battle, and retired 

240 



To the Defence of Washington 241 

without loss to the Ohio, and thus the valley was left open 
to an invasion of the North. General Lee had sent General 
Early into the valley with a strong force, and as there was 
nothing now between the Confederate general and Washing- 
ton, he went on by rapid marches until his course was 
checked for a day by General Wallace in Maryland, who led 
against him a much smaller force and was defeated at the 
Monocacy, thirty miles from Washington (July 9th) . But 
the defeat was in reality a great victory, for the delay he 
caused the enemy saved the capital. The Third Division of 
the Sixth Corps covered General Wallace's retreat, and in 
his report he speaks in high terms of their steady courage 
and discipline, and adds : ' ' The men of the Third Division 
were not whipped, but retired reluctantly, under my orders. 
They bore the brunt of the battle with a coolness and 
steadiness which I venture to say has not been exceeded 
in any battle during the war." 1 

General Grant had already ordered the Nineteenth Corps, 
just arriving at Fortress Monroe from Louisiana, to proceed 
to Washington, and on the evening of the 9th, Major-Gen- 
eral Wright received an order, dated at 8.50, {directing him 
with his corps to proceed at once to City Point, embark 
there and report to Major-General Halleck on arriving at 
Washington. Ten minutes after, at 9 o'clock, in a requisi- 
tion on the chief quartermaster, General Wright says : " I 
am ordered to march my corps to City Point. There will 
be about 1 1 ,000 men and they will start within an hour." 2 

In the campaign which is about to commence, the Sixth 
Corps will render signal service to the country in saving 
Washington from the hands of the enemy. Their first 
campaign in the Shenandoah Valley was a failure, but it 
will be followed by another which will rank among the most 
brilliant campaigns of the war. 

On the evening of the 10th, after the Sixth Corps had 
embarked for Washington, General Grant telegraphed Presi- 
dent Lincoln: "I have sent a whole corps, commanded by an 

1 O. R., xxxvii., pt. 1, p. 191. 'Id., xl., pt. 3, p. 106. 

16 



242 Recollections of the Civil War 

excellent officer," 1 and on the 12th he telegraphed General 
Halleck; "Give orders assigning Maj.-Gen. Wright to su- 
preme command of all troops moving out against the enemy 
regardless of the rank of other commanders."* The next 
day the order was issued by the President and General 
Wright was informed of his position. 3 

It was General Grant's wish to unite the forces under 
General Wright and those under General Hunter who were at 
Harper's Ferry, cut off the Confederate column, and either 
capture or cripple it. But Early, by rapid movements, 
slipped between the two Union armies and made his escape. 
General Grant did not see the Sixth Corps again until it 
was time to go into winter quarters. He could not press 
the siege of Petersburg with the vigor he wished, but he 
held on with superb tenacity and patience, although the 
Rebel army which confronted him was sometimes almost 
equal in numbers to his own. 

The Thirty-seventh is now called to a new field of expe- 
rience, and we may turn to the card diary. — C. S.] 

FRIDAY, July 8th. Petersburg. We are occupying 
the quarters vacated by General Hamblin. I have 
been very busy all day making out returns and have 
completed my quartermaster's returns. 

Saturday, July 9th. Quiet all day. About 10 p.m., we 
received orders to pack and start for City Point; got 
under way and kept moving all night. 

Sunday, July 10th. We reached City Point at 5 a.m. 
Lay in the hot sun all day, and embarked on board the 
propeller, Perit, for Washington at 7 p.m. Letter of 
nth says : "We got on board our boat at seven last night 
and have been sailing since. My eyes trouble me so much 
that I am going to give up writing and reading entirely. ' ' 4 

• 0. R., xxxvii., pt. 2, p. 155. * Id., p. 222. 3 id., pp. 261, 284. 

* The command was shipped on board of transports. O. R., xxxvii., 
pt. I, p. 271. 



To the Defence of Washington 243 

Monday, July nth. Passed Fortress Monroe this 
morning at 9. A French man-of-war was drilling its 
marines in the harbor. The seamen running over the 
masts looked like rats. Enjoyed a shower, the first we 
have experienced for forty days. The trip was enliv- 
ened by singing in the afternoon. In the evening the 
wind blew almost a gale. 1 

Tuesday, July 12th. We passed Aquia Creek, Ma- 
thias Point, and Mount Vernon, and this morning 
reached Washington at noon, and found the "Rebs" 
within four miles of the city. We marched out Four- 
teenth Street by Brightwood, through the heavily 
timbered gates near Fort Stevens. President Lincoln, 
General Wright and others were visible on the parapet 
of the fort as we passed through the gates. We formed 
a part of a line of battle on the right, and moved forward 

1 A portion of the Second Division of the Sixth Corps arrived at 
Washington about noon on the i ith and found all in confusion. Rumors 
had hardened down into facts, and it was believed that a greater part of 
Lee's army was in front of the capital. There were several major-gen- 
erals and a score or more of brigadiers in the city, but each had a sep- 
arate command, and there was no head either to organize a defence or 
plan an attack upon the enemy. Orders were issued rapidly, and as 
rapidly countermanded. General Wright on arrival in the city received 
orders from General Halleck to go into camp between Chain Bridge and 
the line of defences near the river. (O. R., xxxvii., pt. 2, p. 207.) At 
1.40 p.m. he received another order through Major-General Augur from 
General Halleck: "Please stop General Wright's movement up the 
Potomac and send his command up Seventh Street to rendezvous near 
the Military Asylum." (Id., p. 209.) Later in the afternoon came 
another order, commanding him to report with his command to General 
McCook at Crystal Spring, near Fourteenth Street. At 4.10 p.m., 
General Wright, from Fort Stevens, reports to General Augur: "The 
head of my column has nearly reached the front, and, at the suggestion 
of Major-General McCook, I have directed them to bivouac at Crystal 
Spring, about half a mile in rear." (Id., p. 208.) General Wright 
was of the opinion that there was only a thin skirmish line in front of the 
fort, and offered to put his veterans in and clean them out, but the offer 
was declined. — C. S. 



244 Recollections of the Civil War 

nearly a mile, the enemy retiring before us. We were 
not heavily engaged, but four or five men in the regi- 
ment were wounded. William H. Shaw, 1 in his War 
Dairy, at page 48, says, "The Thirty-seventh was put 
on the skirmish line and we had a few shots at the 
Johnnies ; we drove them about two miles, and as it was 
growing dark, we lay on picket at night." 

General Wheaton says, in his report of the battle 
before Fort Stevens : 

Upon arrival at Washington, July 11, at 12 m., I 
was directed by General Wright to move toward Chain 
Bridge. While marching up Pennsylvania Avenue was 
halted by Colonel Taylor, chief of staff, Department of 
Washington, and informed by him that the enemy was 
driving in our picket line and seriously threatening Fort 
Stevens on Seventh street, and received through him Gen- 
eral Augur's instructions to march at once in that direction 
instead of Chain Bridge, as first ordered. I turned my 
brigade up Eleventh street, and while on the march to Fort 
Stevens was passed by General Wright, commanding the 
corps, and received his verbal instructions to mass near 
Crystal Spring, in the neighborhood of Fort Stevens, where 
we arrived at 4 o'clock in the p.m. 

At 5 p.m., a portion of the Veteran Reserve Corps was 
driven in towards Fort Stevens by Early's forces and I was 
ordered to move 500 men of my brigade out to recover the 
line held in the afternoon. This was successfully accom- 
plished before seven, and the enemy's advance was driven 
back to their main lines. The position was strengthened 
at dark and extended from a point opposite the centre of 
the line between Forts Stevens and Reno to the west and 
to a point opposite Fort Slocum to the east, a distance of 

1 Of Company D. In 1904 he printed 100 copies of his diary kept 
during the war. 



To the Defence of Washington 245 

about two miles . Skirmishing continued through the night 
and following day. 

At 5 p.m. of the 1 2th, while in charge of the division, I 
was ordered to drive in the enemy's skirmish line, and 
occupy, if successful, two strong wooded hills in our front, 
the possession of which gave the enemy great advantage of 
position near our intrenched line. I ordered Colonel Bid- 
well, commanding the Third Brigade, to move his command 
outside the fort, and under cover of a ravine and woods, at 
trail arms, and every precaution taken to prevent the 
enemy discovering the movement, from two lines in the 
rear of my brigade (which was all deployed as skirmishers) , 
and about 300 yards on the right of the Rockville pike, the 
position being covered by scrub timber and underbrush. 
Colonel Bidwell was then directed to select three of his very 
best regiments at an indicated point a few paces in rear of 
our skirmish line and fronting the strong wooded position 
held by the enemy. The attack was ordered to be made by 
the whole skirmish line of the First (my own) Brigade, and 
these three regiments from the Third Brigade were to 
assault and carry the strong position referred to, the remain- 
der of the Third Brigade to be held ready to support the 
general movement. A preconcerted signal was made when 
these regiments were in position, at which time the batteries 
from Forts Stevens and Slocum opened fire upon certain 
indicated points strongly held by the enemy. As had been 
previously arranged, after the thirty-sixth shot from Fort 
Stevens had been fired, a signal was made from the parapet 
of that work and the commander of the skirmish line and 
three assaulting regiments dashed forward, surprising and 
hotly engaging the enemy, who was found to be much 
stronger than had been supposed. It became necessary to 
deploy immediately the three remaining regiments. 

The enemy's stubborn resistance showed that a farther 
advance than already made would require more troops, 
and two regiments were sent for. Before their arrival, 
however (the Thirty-seventh Massachusetts and Second 



246 Recollections of the Civil War 

Rhode Island), an aide-de-camp from General Wright 
directed me not to attempt more than the holding of the 
position I had gained, as the object of the attack had been 
accomplished, and the important points captured and held. 
The last shot was fired about 10 o'clock and the remainder 
of the night was occupied in strengthening the position, 
burying the dead, and caring for the wounded. 1 

Wednesday, July 13th. During the night we were 
relieved on the front line by the Eleventh Vermont, and 
were sent to support the pickets on the extreme right. 
This morning the darkies cut down all the trees and 
orchards around us. Transportation was reduced so 
that each regiment in our brigade had one wagon. 
Ordered to march at 2 p.m. Moved through Tennally- 
town to Offutt's Cross-Roads, 2 a distance of fifteen 
miles — a hard march. Halted for the night at 7 p.m. 
Our horses did not come up, so all the officers of the 
regiment were afoot. 3 

Thursday, July 14th. Ordered to move at daylight. 
The Thirty-seventh was detailed as wagon guard, and 
therefore started late. Here we were equipped with 
Spencer rifles. It was esteemed a special compliment 
to the discipline and good reputation of the regiment. 

1 (O. R., xxxvii., pt. 1, p. 275.) These excerpts from the report of 
General Wheaton (in temporary command of the Second Division, 
Sixth Corps, in absence of General Getty) are found in the card diary. 

a See War Map 7 (1). For another good general map of this region, 
see War Map 27 (1). 

a On the afternoon of the 13th, General Wright sent a despatch from 
Fort Reno to the Secretary of War: "The head of my column is passing 
this point, and will be pushed forward to the limits of the endurance of 
the men. ... I can assure yourself and the President that there will be 
no delay on my part to head off the enemy, and that the men I have will 
do all that the number of men can do. They have been well tried and 
never found wanting." (O. R., xxxvii., pt. I, p. 265.) — C. S. 



To the Defence of Washington 247 

We waited until 2 p.m., and then started behind the 
teams, moved very slowly eight miles and stopped for 
the night near Seneca Mills. This evening the horses 
arrived in charge of hostlers. They were shipped in 
different boats. The slow progress made by the teams 
was due to the fact that the teamsters were green 
hands, and did not know how to handle the mules. 

On the 14th, General Wright telegraphed General 
Halleck: "The march is rather a severe one, the men 
straggling badly. The teams are green, and the trains 
consequently move much less rapidly than the 
infantry." 1 Later in the day (6 p.m.) he reports from 
Poolesville : 

Most of the infantry of this corps and a part of the 
artillery have come up. The train is stretched along the 
road for a great distance and will not be all up by midnight, 
if so soon. . . . The enemy had, and kept, about twenty- 
four hours the start of us, which gave him full time to 
secure his crossing of the river. . . . My troops have 
marched over thirty miles in about twenty- four hours, over 
bad roads and under excessive heat. 2 

Friday, July 15th. Started at 11 to join the division 
at Poolesville, and arrived there at 3.30 p.m. Black- 
berries in abundance. Hanged a spy. I visited the 
town in the afternoon. The Rebs took fifteen thou- 
sand dollars' worth of goods from our store, also a 
very long train of cattle and carriages. Our baggage 
arrived. 

Saturday, July 16th. Started at 5 to go by White's 
Ford 3 on the Potomac, and found a few of the enemy's 
cavalry guarding the opposite shore, but a few shells 

J 0. R., xxvii., pt. 1, p. 266. 2 Id., p. 267. 

* See footnote at pages 47 and 5 1 , and notes. 



248 Recollections of the Civil War 

scattered them. 1 We waded across. The water was 
about three feet deep. We pushed on to Leesburg and 
formed a line of battle on a fine crest. The Rebs 
passed here this afternoon. General Hunter is coming 
up to join us. General Getty is in command of the corps. 
Sunday, July 17th. We are encamped three miles 
beyond Leesburg at Clark's Gap. 2 Nothing doing 
to-day; we are resting. Ricketts's (Third) division 3 
returned and joined the corps to-day. General Hunter 
is at Snicker's Gap, and General Howe is in command of 
Sigel's forces. 4 The Thirty-seventh attended religious 
services with the Fifteenth New Jersey. General 
Crook has followed Early across the Shenandoah, and 
General Wright has been ordered to be sure that Early 
is moving south, and return speedily with the Sixth 
and Nineteenth Corps to Petersburg. 

A letter of this date says: 

We forded the Potomac yesterday at White's Ford and 
came to Leesburg, following in the track of the Rebs most 
of the way. We are waiting for General Hunter to come 5 
when I suppose we shall push on. Leesburg is a beautiful 
place. My eyes are a little better, but I do not dare to use 
them yet. Am under the doctor's care. 

1 Lieutenant Lamb of Battery C, First Rhode Island Light Artillery, 
reports that at White's Ford he went into position and fired twenty 
rounds at the enemy's cavalry. (0. R., xxxvii., pt. 1, p. 281.) 

a See id., p. 271. 

s It had been with General Lew Wallace and covered his retreat 
at the battle of Monocacy. (Bowen, p. 349.) 

4 General A. P. Howe was assigned to the command of the Military 
District of Harper's Ferry by the President on the 7th of July. 0. 
R., xxxvii., pt. 2, p. 104.) 

s A detachment of General Hunter's command, under General Crook, 
arrived at Purcellville, about six miles in advance of Clark's Gap, on 
the evening of the 16th, and on the evening of the 17th, General Wright 
reports: "The cavalry of General Crook's command, under General 



To the Defence of Washington 249 

Monday, July 18th. Received orders to march at 4 
A.M. Our route was through Hamilton (where flags 
and handkerchiefs were waved as we passed), then on 
through Purcellville and Snickersville and through 
Snicker's Gap. The march was slow with frequent 
halts. General Hunter's command crossed the Shenan- 
doah, had a skirmish with the Rebs and then retired. 
Macomber 1 stayed with me over night. Our brigade 
was detailed for picket duty. 

Itinerary: "Moved again, crossing the mountains 
at Snicker's Gap; came up with the enemy on the bank 
of the Shenandoah ; brigade on picket ; so remained until 
the 20th." 2 

Tuesday, July 19th. On picket during the day. The 
boys tried their Spencer rifles. Several Rebs shot. 
Ordered to be ready to move at noon. Bowen (page 
363) says: "There was a lively interchange of shots by 
the picket lines during the 19th." 

Wednesday, July 20th. Moved the line forward into 
the woods at sunrise. Ordered to move at 10 a.m. The 

Duffie, more fortunate than the rest, struck the rear of the enemy on the 
Snickersville pike, capturing 117 mules and horses, 82 wagons, and 62 
prisoners, besides killing and wounding a good many." (O. R., xxxvii., 
pt. 1, p. 268.)— C. S. 

1 A classmate at Amherst. 

2 O. R., id., p. 272. In the evening, General Wright ordered General 
Crook, commanding a division of General Hunter's command, who com- 
ing in from the North had struck the Snickersville pike six miles in ad- 
vance of the Sixth Corps, to send out a cavalry force supported by 
infantry to harass the rear of the enemy's column. They found that the 
enemy had already crossed the Shenandoah and held the opposite bank. 
On the 18th, General Crook came up with the remainder of his com- 
mand, and moving about a mile and a half to the right of Snicker's Ford, 
effected a crossing. He was hardly in position when he was made the ob- 
ject of several vigorous attacks by the enemy which were successfully 
repulsed. While this was going on, the Sixth Corps came up, but as 
it was rumored that Early's whole force was in their front, General 



250 Recollections of the Civil War 

Thirty-seventh led the crossing and deployed as skir- 
mishers at once, and found several wounded Federal 
soldiers at a house near by. Order to proceed to Berry - 
ville ; Captain Young took three companies out to scout 
with him; sheep, pigs, poultry, colts, and horses abun- 
dant. We only advanced three miles from the river, 
when, owing to a thunderstorm, we were halted and 
General Wright changed his plans, and at 10 p.m. we 
started on our return march to Washington. 

Itinerary: "With the rest of the corps it forded the 
Shenandoah and marched to within two miles of Berry - 
ville. That night commenced the return march to 
Washington ; continued the march all night and the next 
day." 1 

Thursday, July 2 1 st. We marched all night, recrossed 
the Shenandoah, passed through Snicker's Gap, down 
the eastern slope of Blue Ridge, breakfasted at or near 
Hamilton (seventeen miles from the start) , and reached 
Leesburg at 2 p.m. Roads rough, people sullen and 
threatening as we marched through the town with 
flying colors. At 5 p.m. we halted for the night across 
Goose Creek, four miles beyond Leesburg. Mosby 
charged the rear of our column, and took some prisoners 
at Leesburg. The soldiers bathed and washed in Goose 
Creek. The water was clear and this the first oppor- 

Ricketts, then commanding the Sixth Corps, did not think it prudent to 
cross his men and General Crook withdrew, having lost something like 
four hundred men and inflicted a loss of over six hundred upon the 
enemy. (0. R., xxxvii., pt. I, pp. 287, 290.) — C. S. 

1 0. R., id., p. 272. On the 1 7th, General Halleck received the follow- 
ing despatch from General Grant, written the day before: "There can be 
no use in Wright following the enemy with the latter a day ahead, after 
he has passed entirely beyond (south of) all our communications. I 
want, if possible, to get the Sixth and Nineteenth Corps here, to use them 
here before the enemy can get Early back. ... As soon as the Rebel 



To the Defence of Washington 251 

tunity to bathe they had had for a month. We heard 
that Ramseur's division attacked Averell north of 
Winchester and was defeated and driven to Strasburg. x 

Friday, July 226.. Started at 8, and marched through 
Dranesville, where we halted for two hours at noon for 
refreshments. Crossed Difficult Creek in the afternoon, 
and were then fifteen miles from Washington. It was 
a hard march — Shaw says twenty miles. 2 

Saturday, July 23d. Marched at 3.30 A.M. Passed 
though Falls Church over Chain Bridge, and encamped 
a mile and a half beyond on the Tennallytown road in 
the rear of Fort Gaines just west of Washington. 3 
Made requisition on the quartermaster to fill wants. 
Just at night Dr. Hitchcock and my brother Henry 
called and gave me a genuine surprise. Captain 
Lincoln was in town. 

Bowen (page 365), says: "The next day was Sunday, 
the 24th, and after an inspection by Captain Tyler, 
officers and men devoted much of the time to perusing 

army is known to have passed Hunter's forces, recall Wright and send 
him back here with all despatch, and also send the Nineteenth Corps. 
If the enemy have any notion of returning, the fact will be developed 
before Wright can start back." (O. R., xxxvii., pt. 2, p. 350.) This 
despatch was sent to General Wright. — C. S. 

1 See.Bowen, p. 366. Averell had been trying to communicate with 
General Wright of the Sixth Corps, but found that he was already on his 
way back to Washington. Hearing that the enemy was within about 
three miles of Winchester, he determined to give battle and made a 
vigorous assault, drove the enemy from the field, and found that they 
had left four guns, seventy-three killed and one hundred and thirty 
wounded men on the field. Seventeen officers and two hundred and 
fifty men were captured. The next day he occupied Winchester where 
he was joined on the 226. by General Crook. (O. R., xxxvii., pt. 1, 
p. 326).— C. S. 

3 War Diary, p. 50 

* All these places appear clearly on War Map 7 (1). See Bowen, 
p- 365; O. R., xxxvii., pt. I, p. 272 (itinerary). 



252 Recollections of the Civil War 

the large mail which had been brought in and to writing 
letters." A generous rain fell, continuing through the 
night, and the wind blew strong, but they issued clothing 
in the rain as we were ordered to embark that night 
(for Petersburg), but it was postponed apparently on 
account of the storm. 






CHAPTER XVI 

FROM WASHINGTON TO HALLTOWN, TO FRED- 
ERICK AND BACK TO HALLTOWN 

JULY 25 TO SEPTEMBER 1 8, I864 

[Introduction. — General Grant had need of the Sixth 
Corps and was anxious to keep the Army of the Potomac 
together, and he ordered it on arriving at Washington to 
proceed at once to Petersburg. The order was communi- 
cated to General Wright on the 24th, and preparations were 
being made for the immediate embarkation of his command. 
But before the day was over, General Grant sent a telegram 
to General Halleck: "You can retain Wright until I learn 
positively what has become of Early. I would prefer a 
complete smash-up of the enemy's roads about Gordonsville 
and Charlottesville to having the same force here. If 
Wright and Hunter can do the job, let them do it." x 

The pursuit of Early was given up near Barryville, but 
the Rebel general was not aware of the fact until he arrived 
at Strasburg, some forty miles up the valley. He immedi- 
ately turned back, drove General Crook out of Winchester, 
and pushed on to the Potomac. The Sixth Corps and the 
commands associated with it were ordered to Halltown, in 
the Valley of Shenandoah, about four miles west of Harper's 
Ferry. The position was an admirable one, but they had 

1 O. R., xxxvii., pt. 2, p. 426. The operations of General Sheridan in 
the Valley of the Shenandoah are given in War Maps 69: (1) represents 
his first advance and retreat, (2) his second advance after Grant's 
order, "Go in." — C. S. 

253 



254 Recollections of the Civil War 

hardly arrived there when General Halleck ordered them 
to Frederick, Maryland. The result was that they were 
put out of connection with the enemy and lost sight of the 
invading army altogether. 

The section of country exposed to invasion was then 
divided into four military departments, each under a sepa- 
rate commander, and it was not easy for them to unite for 
joint action. General Grant now proposed to unite these 
departments under one commander, and nominatedGeneral 
Franklin for the position, and afterwards General Meade, 
but the authorities at Washington did not agree with him. 
Something must be done, and he telegraphed to General 
Halleck on the ist of August that he had appointed General 
Sheridan to the temporary command in the field. 1 

On arriving in Washington, General Sheridan called with 
Secretary Stanton on the President, and Mr. Lincoln with 
his usual frankness told Sheridan of the Secretary's oppo- 
sition to him, and that he himself shared the feelings of the 
Secretary. "But," said the President, "as General Grant 
has ploughed round the difficulties, I am satisfied." 

We may now go back to Washington and resume the 
story.— C. S.] 

MONDAY, July 25th. Rained and blew hard last 
night. We were ordered to embark for Peters- 
burg at night, but it was postponed apparently on ac- 
count of the storm. They issued clothing last night in 
the rain. I was suffering from malaria, and by the 
surgeon's directions I was moved down to the city. 
My brother Henry called a carriage and took me to 
a hotel. Professor Seelye called to see me. 

Tuesday, July 26th. This morning Stebbins [a class- 
mate] called to see me. Our corps moved at 11 to 
Rockville. I tried to find some conveyance with which 
to reach them, but was unable to do so. 

1 O. R., xxxvii., pt. 2, p. 558. 



Washington to Frederick and Halltown 255 



'& 



Wednesday, July 27th. I reported to the provost 
Marshal, and got transportation to Frederick. I had 
improved rapidly, but Henry persuaded me to wait and 
go with him. 

In a letter from Binghamton, August 4th, his father 
wrote: 

Henry wrote us, the day after your return to the army, 
a full and most entertaining account of his finding you, 
bringing you to Washington, nursing you and visiting with 
you for five days, till at length you set out refreshed and 
invigorated for the service. We little thought, when we 
planned for Henry's employment in the service of the 
Christian Commission, that almost his first service would 
be nursing and ministering to you. 

Saw Captain Loomis and Lieutenant Chandley, and 
Stebbins called on me in the evening. 

Thursda}', July 28th. Stebbins and I circulated about 
the city; went to the Patent Office in the morning and 
to the Capitol in the afternoon. 

In the meantime, the army had moved very rapidly. 
On Tuesday the regiment marched by way of Tennally- 
town and Rockville, and went into camp at 9 p.m. five 
miles beyond the latter place, some fifteen miles from 
Washington. 1 The next day they marched thirteen 
miles and halted early in the afternoon near Hyatts- 
town. On Thursday the regiment started at 7, passed 
through Hyattstown and Urbana, halted at noon near 
Monocacy Creek, the scene of the recent battle between 
Wallace and Early, rested until 5 p.m., then forded the 
creek, and leaving Frederick on the right, halted at 
midnight near Jefferson. 

1 Bowen, p. 365. 



256 Recollections of the Civil War 

After a brief rest, they started again, and marched 
to Knoxville on the Potomac, thence up the river, and 
across the pontoon bridge at Harper's Ferry, and four 
miles beyond to Halltown, where a halt in line of battle 
was made. The distance made was only fifteen miles, 
but it was said that thirty men died of sunstroke. Here 
General Crook joined his forces to those of General 
Wright. » 

About 6 p.m. (the 28th,) I started with our sutler, 
May, to go to the regiment, and went within fifteen 
miles of Rockville. At midnight we halted and slept 
the rest of the night in a barn. 

Friday, July 29th. We made an early start. Met 
some stragglers from the Sixth Corps not behaving 
creditably. We stopped within a mile of Urbana, put 
up at an old-fashioned country tavern, and I slept in 
the garret. 

Saturday, July 30th. Breakfasted on bread and 
milk, and started at 6 a.m. The country was hilly. 
We crossed the Monocacy, and arrived at Frederick 
at 10 a.m.; moved on, met some of Mosby's men, and 
stopped at a farmhouse over night. 

Sunday, July 31st. Started at 4.30 in pursuit of the 
regiment, and overtook them within a mile. The regi- 
ment started at 10 and marched until 2. The excessive 
heat prostrated many men. We rested until 4.30 and 
then resumed the march. Marched through Jeffer- 
son to the beat of the drum, then through Petersville, 

1 Bowen, p. 367; O. R., xxxvii., pt. I, p. 272. General George Crook's 
command was known as the Army of West Virginia, and consisted of two 
divisions, although Sheridan says that there were not men enough to 
make more than one fair-sized division (Memoirs, vol. i., p. 472). It 
may be interesting to note that the Second Division was commanded 
by Colonel R. B. Hayes, afterwards President of the United States. 
— C. S. 



Washington to Frederick and Halltown 257 

and encamped in a beautiful grove within a mile of 
Frederick. x 

Monday, August 1st. Rested all day. Heard the 
news from Petersburg and Malvern Hill. Chambers- 
burg reported burned. 2 W. F. Merrill 3 called. 

From camp near Frederick, Md., he wrote to his 
mother, August 1st: 

I don't know as I told you in my last tnat my regiment 
went off and left me in Washington sick. They sent me 
down to the city to stay until the regiment passed through 
on its way to City Point, and then when they got orders to 
proceed up into Maryland, they did not have time to send 
for me, so I was left. I there had a nice visit with Hen, and 

1 The organization of the Department of West Virginia under General 
Hunter, July 31, 1864, given in 0. R., xxxvii., pt. 2, p. 550, shows: 

Sixth Corps, Maj.-Gen. Horatio G. Wright. 
First Division, Brig.-Gen. David A. Russell. 
Third Brigade, Col. Oliver Edwards. 

37th Mass., Lieut. -Col. Geo. L. Montague. 
6th Me. (battalion), Maj. Geo. Fuller. 
23d Penn., Col. John F. Glenn. 
49th Penn., Maj. Amor W. Wakefield. 
82d Penn., Lieut.-Col. John M. Wetherill. 
119th Penn., Lieut.-Col. Gideon Clark. 
5th Wis. (battalion), Capt. Chas. W. Kempf. 

2 The reference to Petersburg is to the explosion of the mine under the 
Rebel fortification known as Elliott's salient, on the morning of the 30th ; 
that to Malvern Hill to the operations of the Second Corps under General 
Hancock north of the James, known to history as the Deep Bottom 
Campaign. It was undertaken to draw the Confederate troops from the 
defences of Petersburg to the defences of Richmond, and thus weaken 
the enemy's line at the time of the explosion of the mine. Early had 
sent forward his cavalry to demand a ransom of some of the towns on 
the border, and Chambersburg was the first to suffer. On the 30th, 
the demand was made for five hundred thousand dollars in currency or 
one hundred thousand in gold, on threat of immediately burning the 
town. As it was impossible to raise such a sum, the torch was applied, 
and three thousand people saw their homes reduced to ashes. — C. S. 

J Of the Class of '63, Amherst College. 



258 Recollections of the Civil War 

Steb, and Thursday afternoon I started with the sutler to 
find the regiment. They had marched very fast and had 
got to Harper's Ferry, some sixty miles, before we overtook 
them. They recrossed to this side of the river night before 
last, and I rejoined them yesterday morning. 

A great many of the men have fallen sick and given out 
on these last two campaigns. They can't endure fatigue 
as they could at the beginning of the campaign, and they 
don't seem to rally as they did formerly. I pity them. 

The troops have been marched on this trip without the 
slightest consideration. Day before yesterday some ninety 
boys in our regiment got heated and had spasms, and the 
trouble is that if they once melt they don't get over it all 
summer. 1 The marching was terribly hot yesterday and 
we made only ten miles. I went without the bandage on 
my eyes while in Washington, and for two or three days my 
eyes have been very sore to pay for it. I don't know but 
what I shall have to resign, if my eyes don't grow better. 
I found letters from Will, Father, and you when I arrived 
here. I should like to write as much in reply, but I can't 
do it this morning, and when I tell you what a delight your 
splendid long letters, so full of incidents and particulars, 
are to me, I hope you will feel that I appreciate them — 
although I would pay you in the other coin if I could. Love 
to Grandma and all the cousins — I must close. 

The itinerary says that during the month of July 

1 The march from Washington to Halltown was exhausting in the ex- 
treme, and when they were ordered on the 30th to proceed to Frederick, 
Maryland, General Wright remonstrated and reported his corps "so 
much fatigued and scattered as to be unable to move this morning." 
(O. R., xxxvii., pt. 2, p. 51 1.) A staff officer reported to General Halleck 
at midnight : ' ' The men are very tired ; some of the Sixth Corps stragglers 
were half-way between Frederick and Harper's Ferry this afternoon." 
(Id., p. 512.) But the move was insisted upon and orders were issued 
to start the next morning at daylight. So exhausted were the men and 
so oppressive was the heat that in twenty-four hours one half of the 
Sixth Corps had fallen out by the wayside, many of them never to join 
the ranks again. — C. S. 



Washington to Frederick and Halltown 259 

the regiment marched about two hundred and thirty- 
nine miles. 1 

Tuesday, August 2d. Ordered to march, packed, 
started about 10 a.m., proceeded a few rods, and the 
orders were countermanded. Returned and issued 
rations and rested the remainder of the day. Large 
mail. 

The following is a letter of this date to his father from 
camp near Frederick: 

I believe about once in so often I sit down and write you a 
letter on business of some kind or other, and this morning 
I have come to the conclusion that I had better write you a 
letter of that kind. I want to write you about Colonel 
Edwards. He has been recommended for promotion by 
General Russell, who commands our division and is one of 
the ablest brigadiers in the army. He had also a very 
strong recommendation from General Getty, the com- 
mander of the Second Division. These recommendations 
are backed by Generals Wright and Meade, and approved 
by General Grant. These papers are all on file in the War 
Department, and it would seem as if such papers ought to 
be sufficient of themselves, and yet it is a fact that such is 
the character of our Government, that mere military papers, 
unless they are supported by political influence, are not 
worth a cent. 

Now as to Colonel Edwards's merits, I don't think there 
is a brigade commander in the corps that has behaved more 
gallantly, or handled his men in better shape during this 
entire campaign. There are few commanders in the army 
that have more complete control, and can bring their troops 
up to that pitch of discipline which he effects in whatever 
he commands. I don't believe there is a regiment in the 
service that has shown more steadiness and better soldierly 
qualities than the Thirty-seventh. 

1 0. R., xxxvii., pt. 1, p. 272. 



260 Recollections of the Civil War 

When old regiments like the Tenth Massachusetts and 
Second Rhode Island, considered among the best regiments 
in the service, were wavering and shaky, I never during 
the whole campaign have seen the slightest sign of a waver 
or of unsteadiness in the Thirty-seventh. They would go 
anywhere they were ordered without the slightest hesitation. 

This perfection of discipline is due in a great measure to 
Colonel Edwards. Now such a commander, in these times 
when we have so many mean, cowardly, sneaking com- 
manders, and when we so pre-eminently need good ones; 
when lack of discipline is the curse of our army, and we 
have so few that are capable of bringing troops to a proper 
degree of discipline; when such a man is so much needed, 
I say he ought to be rewarded. The good opinion of his 
corps and division commanders has placed him in com- 
mand of one of the largest brigades in the army, and if 
General Sedgwick had lived, his best efforts would have 
been used in his favor. One of General Sedgwick's last 
acts was to transfer General Eustis to another division, so 
as to give Colonel Edwards command of a brigade, and he 
told Colonel E., after the battle in the Wilderness, that he 
should send forward his name for promotion at the first 
opportunity. His death prevented. Colonel Edwards is 
perfectly aware that he is not likely to receive his promotion 
unless he procures political influence, and yet such is his 
delicacy of feeling that he says that if his papers, backed 
by such military commanders, are not sufficient, they may 
fall through ; and yet I know he would feel grateful if they 
were pushed through. Now I have taken it upon myself 
to write Mr. Washburn to secure if possible Mr. Sumner's 
influence in his behalf. I think they ought for the sake of 
old Massachusetts, for the sake of the cause and the country, 
to take an interest in the matter. I think all it would need 
would be for Mr. Sumner to interest himself a little in the 
case, and, with the aforesaid recommendations, it would go 
on of itself. 

I have written warmly because I feel warmly, and I have 



Washington to Frederick and Halltown 261 

seen so many poor commanders promoted that, when I see 
a deserving one likely to get the go-by, I feel interested, as 
a patriot ought to be. 

Wednesday, August 3d. Called at 4,and marched at 
4.30, through Buckeyeville 1 ; crossed the Monocacy 
and encamped. Had a bath, a swim, and a quiet rest. 
Rations of flour, meal, and soft bread. 

Thursday, August 4th . National fast day. 2 

A letter to his parents from "Buckeyeville" of this 
date, says: 

As we are resting to-day and I am likely to have a little 
more time than usual, I think I will commence a letter to you 
bright and early this morning and then I shall be sure to 
finish it during the day. I have just written a letter to 
Hen, so you see I am trying to keep my end of the rope 
straight with all the family. I wrote Will yesterday. 
After several ineffectual attempts to move from the camp 
where I last wrote you, and where report ordered us to all 
parts of the globe, we moved yesterday morning some five 
miles and encamped ourselves, it is said, for a stay of three 
or four days on the banks of the Monocacy, some five miles 
from Frederick City. So the boys are enjoying their stay 
and improving their time by bathing, fishing, and feeding 
on the products of Maryland soil. They keep the farmers' 
wives busy throughout this whole neighborhood baking the 
much coveted soft bread, which they buy at fabulous prices 
(75 cents or $i .00 a loaf) . You would think soldiers' wages 
would hardly hold out at such rates. They, however, don't 
mind prices if they can only get the articles. Soldiers are 

1 Probably Buckeystown, five miles south of Frederick. See Bowen 
p. 369; War Map 27 (1). 

»This day was the result of a concurrent resolution of Congress, 
approved July 7th, requesting the President to appoint "a day of 
humiliation and prayer," and cordially concurring, the President in 
a proclamation appointed the first Thursday in August "for a day of 
prayer." — C. S. 



262 Recollections of the Civil War 

utterly regardless of expense when they see anything the}' 
want, especially after they have been campaigning awhile. 

One of the best officers in our corps died very suddenly 
this morning, so suddenly that they supposed it must be 
heart disease. He was wounded in the Spottsylvania fight 
of May 1 2th by a ramrod passing through his arm after it 
had grazed his side. A small piece of the ramrod, it seems, 
remained in his side and it worked its way in until this 
morning it pierced his heart and killed him. He was all 
right yesterday. The post-mortem examination elicited 
these facts. He was Major Ellis of the Forty-ninth New 
York, and was the inspector-general of our division. The 
division was paraded in his honor as his remains were 
carried to the depot on their way home. 

I received the last number of the Round Table. I am 
sorry that they had to give that enterprise up. I hope 
Charley 1 won't suffer from the failure. I have received 
one letter from you. Father at Hartford and Mother 
at Binghamton. Our mails are not very regular. 

Friday, August 5th. General Grant visited General 
Hunter at headquarters. Hunter asked to be relieved, 
and Sheridan was assigned to the command of the 
Middle Military Department or Division. 2 

1 Charles H. Sweetser, the publisher, a classmate. 

1 In the despatch notifying General Halleck of General Sheridan's 
appointment to temporary duty in the field, General Grant had added: 
"I want Sheridan put in command of all the troops in the field, with 
instructions to put himself south of the enemy and follow him to the 
death. Wherever the enemy goes, let our troops go also." (O. R., 
xxxvii., pt. 2, p. 558.) President Lincoln happened to see this and it 
pleased him. He telegraphed General Grant his approval but added: 
"This, I think, is exactly right as to how our forces should move, but 
please look over the despatches you may have received from here even 
since you made that order, and discover, if you can, that there is any 
idea in the head of any one here of ' putting our army south of the enemy,' 
or of ' following him to the death' in any direction. I repeat to you, it 
will neither be done nor attempted, unless you watch it every day and 
hour and force it." {Id., p. 582.) On the receipt of this, General 



Washington to Frederick and Halltown 263 

On Friday, the Thirty-seventh rested all day. In 
the evening, received orders to move to Middle- 
town. Assigned to guard the trains, which did not 
start until the next morning, so we slept all night. It 
rained. 

Saturday, August 6th. Crossed the Monocacy River 
and camped on the farther side. It rained merrily 
until 8 o'clock. Moved through Jefferson and Whit- 
more. The sight of a jail called forth from one of the 
soldiers the remark, "Oh! for thirteen months within 
thy peaceful walls." A hard march. Halted at 5.30 
for dinner and supper. Went through the culvert 
under the canal, onto the towpath, and marched two 
miles in four hours. Halted for the night at 11.30- 
Mother is anxious about my eyes and sends me a 
shade. 

Sunday, August 7th. Up at 5 o'clock, moved forward 
and crossed the Potomac River, and halted after four 
miles at Halltown. The views from these hills are very 
beautiful. General Sheridan takes command of this 
military division. To-day at or near Moorfield, Mc- 
Causland and his cavalry force, fresh from Chambers - 

Grant informed the President that he would start for Washington in 
two hours. He did not stop, however, at the capital, but went direct 
to Monocacy Junction, where he found General Hunter. He asked 
him where the enemy was, and he replied that he had been so embar- 
rassed by orders from Washington that he had lost all track of the 
enemy. "Well," said General Grant, "I will find out where the enemy 
is," and he ordered steam got up, and trains made up, and gave direc- 
tions to push for Halltown. The army went by rail on the night of the 
5th, except those detailed to guard the trains. General Grant imme- 
diately telegraphed to General Halleck to send Sheridan to Harper's 
Ferry, and that he should call at Monocacy Junction. Sheridan came 
by special train, and on arrival at the Junction found General Grant at 
the station, had an hour's talk with him, received his orders, and went 
at once to Harper's Ferry. The position at Halltown was very embar- 
rassing to General Early. — C. S. 



264 Recollections of the Civil War 

burg, were attacked by Averell and badly defeated. 
Most of his command were captured. x 

Monday, August 8th. No news this morning. 
Rested all day. Paymaster arrived to-night. 

Letter to his classmate, M. F. Dickinson: 

Four miles beyond Harper' s Ferry, 
August 8, 1864. 

Dear Dick: 

I think of you during this hot summer weather as 
indulging in the luxury of sea bathing, enjoying all the 
pleasures of the devotee of a^f ashionable watering-place at 
this most fashionable season. I should not object myself 
to a short sojourn at one of those Long Island beaches, but 
I have been wonderfully favored, when so many others 
have fared worse. So, my dear old fellow, don't believe me 
complaining. I am as happy as a lark. Ruf is back again 
and that is pleasant. I missed him very much during the 
summer months, and am proportionately glad to see him 
back. . . . 

I suppose you will want to know what I am at. Well, I 
wish I could tell you. I suppose, however, we are watch- 
ing Rebs. We started from Washington in a terrible flurry 
and marched at the rate of seventy miles in four days, 

1 Bowen, p. 367. General Sheridan reported to General Halleck 
that, on the morning of the 7th, "General Averell overtook the enemy's 
cavalry under General McCausland, at whose command Chambersburg 
was burnt; captured three battle-flags, four pieces of artillery, 420 
prisoners, a large amount of small arms, and four hundred horses, and 
scattered the forces." (O. R., xliii., pt. 1, p. 726.) 

As soon as General Early heard that the Union troops were being con- 
centrated at Hall town, he withdrew his forces from the north side of 
the Potomac and took a position at Martinsburg, about twenty miles 
to the west and a little to the north of the Union position. A good maca- 
damized road ran from Martinsburg up through the valley connecting 
the principal towns, which afforded him a ready means of guarding 
his communications. — C. S. 






Washington to Frederick and Halltown 265 

crossing the Potomac at Harper's Ferry, and proceeding a 
short distance into Virginia, until we heard that the Rebs 
were in Maryland. So back we hurried to the defence 
of Maryland. We stopped in the vicinity of Frederick 
several days, and last Saturday crossed the Potomac 
again, and have rested yesterday and to-day on Virginia 
soil, waiting, I suppose, for something to turn up. . . . 

Yours affectionately, 

Mase. 

Tuesday, August 9th. The news of the capture of 
Mobile Bay by Farragut received. Torbert's cavalry 
arrived to-day. 1 

In a letter to his parents dated Camp near Harper's 
Ferry, August p, 1864, he writes: 

Here we are within seventy miles of Washington, and 
not a mail for a week. Somehow or other our regiment 
seems to have been counted out when they distributed the 
mails for this corps. . . . 

After halting for several days on the banks of the Monoc- 
acy, and luxuriating in its cool waters, sudden orders came 
Friday night for us to pack up and proceed to Harper's 
Ferry. Our brigade was afterwards detailed as wagon 
guard, and so we did not start until Saturday morning, 
about 9 o'clock. However, we slept Friday night with our 
things all packed, supposing every moment we should be 
called on. Saturday night we slept on the tow-path of the 
canal, and Sunday morning marched over to our present 
camp, about four miles beyond Harper's Ferry. Since 
then we have been waiting, hardly knowing, I suppose, 
whether it was best to push into Virginia, or to run back 
to the defence of Maryland. 

1 The cavalry here referred to was a division of three brigades sent 
by General Grant from the Army of the Potomac, and Torbert was 
made the chief of cavalry of the Army of the Shenandoah (O. R., xliii. 
pt. 1, p. 501). — C. S. 



266 Recollections of the Civil War 

Last night the paymaster came down upon us quite 
suddenly, but very agreeably. The boys have been sadly 
in want of money. It was more than five months since they 
had received any. The paymaster, however, did not do 
me a great deal of good, except the satisfaction I derived 
of seeing others happy. We have expected every hour 
to-day to be off from here, and still we are waiting. I 
should not complain much if they should leave us here a 
month. I think we could improve the time faithfully. 

General Sheridan's appointment to the command of the 
troops in this Department, I think, gives great satisfaction. 
Although General Hunter may be a very good soldier, I 
don't believe he is a great commander. We have rumors 
that Lee is coming up this way with his whole army, and 
that all the Army of the Potomac, except the Second Corps, 
is coming around by way of Fortress Monroe and Washing- 
ton to meet him. They seem to have made a most out- 
rageous failure in their attempts upon Petersburg. I am 
not so much surprised at it, however, from what I saw. The 
condition of the army, with bad generalship, was enough 
to ruin the most feasible of undertakings. I don't believe 
Meade co-operates with Grant to the full extent of his 
power. No news of any consequence here. My love 
to all the friends. 

Wednesday, August ioth. Aroused at 4.30 to start 
at 5.30. Passed through Charlestown, the county- 
seat made famous by the conviction and execution of 
John Brown in December, 1859. As the several drum 
corps entered the village, they each, regardless of the 
terrible heat, took up the air of ' ' John Brown. x " Found 
the railroad torn up. Marched within twelve miles of 
Winchester. In a forest near Clifton, halted at 5 for 
the night. Much straggling. Many prostrated by the 
heat, which was at its worst as we were passing through 

1 Bo wen, p. 370. 



Washington to Frederick and Halltown 267 

a cornfield. Fine shower to-night. Marched sixteen 
miles. 

He wrote to his parents, August 12th, from Winchester: 
I don't know as we shall have a chance to send a mail for 
a month to come, but as we are resting this afternoon, 
I think I will improve the opportunity to drop you a line. 
We left our camp near Harper's Ferry Wednesday, and 
have marched pretty hard since. We have suffered more 
because they have marched us in the heat of the day, or, 
rather, all day long, and the sun has been terribly scorching. 
Many a poor fellow has been struck down. 

Last night we spent below here somewhere near Berry- 
ville. But this morning our corps pushed on to Front 
Royal, and we were detached to go back to Winchester and 
convoy a train on to the rest of the troops, so we marched 
only seven miles this morning and have been resting 
since. 1 When we shall go on, I do not learn ; probably not 
before to-morrow, at any rate. I have not as yet been 
down into the town, only as we marched through it this 
morning. There were so many more anxious to go than I 
was that I waived my claims. It is said, however, by 
those who have been down, that they find a good many 
strong Union people, and that they have secreted some of 
our prisoners here and ministered to our wounded. The 
Rebs have been here and occupied the ground for the past 
week or two, so that the country is pretty well cleared of 
everything that is good. They tell us that there are some 
one hundred bushwhackers lurking around here ready to 
pounce upon all our stragglers. 

Saturday morning. We are under marching orders this 
morning and expect every minute to go. Some men from 
Early's corps came in last night and say that his corps is at 

1 General Sheridan on the 12 th ordered General Wright to send a 
brigade of the Sixth Corps via the Millwood pike to Winchester, to 
occupy the place until the arrival of the trains (O. R., xliii., pt. 1, p. 
775). The Third Brigade, First Division, was selected. — C. S. 



268 Recollections of the Civil War 

Strasburg, and that he intends to stop there and fight us. 
There was quite a fight day before yesterday between our 
cavalry and the Rebs. We attacked their rear guard as 
they were going out of the town. The wounded of both 
sides are here now. 

Sunday morning. We made a fifteen mile march yester- 
day at 1 1 from Winchester to Cedar Creek, down beyond 
Middletown where we are now encamped. I have been 
sleeping all the morning until Henry came in with a big 
pile of letters and woke me up, and I went to reading and 
have been reading ever since. Your shade came among the 
rest, and I am sitting here writing to you with it on. It is 
just the thing. I enjoyed my stay at Winchester very 
much. I used to feast two or three times a day on bread 
and milk, and oh! how good it did taste! The weather 
has been awfully hot the past few days, and we have had 
to march through the heat of the whole of it. I am in 
good condition, however, and enjoying myself as much as 
a man can in this sort of life. I shall write Father and 
answer his questions soon. I don't dare to use my eyes 
much more to-day. I got the $10 Father sent me in 
Washington. 

Saturday, August 13th. Moved out on the Strasburg 
road at II. Moved in the rear of the trains at 2, 
through Kernstown, Newtown, Middletown, on to 
Cedar Creek. Miss Kitty Scan reclaimed her stolen 
horse and cows. Covered about nineteen miles. 

On August 20th, Saturday, he wrote from Charlestou.11 
to his mother: 

I thought I would muster up courage to drop you a line 
this afternoon, although I don't feel like the smartest man 
in the world. I have been suffering from a severe attack of 
fever and ague for the past three days, and to-day I am 
suffering from the crazing effects of whiskey and quinine 



Washington to Frederick and Halltown 269 

taken to counteract the fever. We left Middletown Tues- 
day night, and marched all night; rested near Winchester 
from 7 until 1 1 , and then moved out five miles on the Berry - 
ville road. 1 That day I marched all day, but my legs 
would not have carried me an inch farther than they did. 

That night the Rebs were coming down upon us about 
midnight and so they sent our regiment out on picket. The 
fact is, we have to do about all the picket duty and skirmish 
duty for the corps when there is any danger, because we are 
armed with Spencer rifles. We started the next morning 
and marched to Charlestown. The last two miles I had to 
get into an ambulance, the first time I ever got into an am- 
bulance since I have been in the service. May it be the 
last! We have rested here since. Where we shall go next, 
I don't know. I was very badly off all day yesterday ; had 
a severe shake and a violent fever. To-day I have kept 
them off with the doctor's aid, but I am a good deal like 
a rag. 

I was appointed Judge Advocate of a court sitting in this 
division just before we left Middletown, and had tried one 
case. I accepted the position with a good deal of hesitation 
but I found I could use my eyes with a shade, and as I con- 
sidered the experience valuable, and the additional pay 
something of a consideration, I decided to try it. But I 
am afraid now I shall have to give it up. 

Sunday, August 21st. I am feeling a little better this 

1 Early, at this time, occupied a strong position at Fisher's Hill, and, 
on the 14th, Sheridan ordered the Sixth Corps to cross Cedar Creek 
and occupy the heights at Strasburg. But while this movement was in 
progress, he received a despatch from General Halleck, signed by General 
Grant: " Inform Sheridan that it is now certain two divisions of infantry 
have gone to Early, and some cavalry and twenty pieces of artillery. . . . 
He must be cautious and act now on the defensive until movements 
here force them to detach to send this way" (O. R., xliii., pt. i, p. 43). 
To accomplish this, he immediately moved a strong force north of the 
James to menace Richmond. This despatch led General Sheridan to 
move back to Halltown. — C. S. 



270 Recollections of the Civil War 

morning. About 8 o'clock the Rebs attacked our 
picket line. The Thirty-seventh was at once detailed for 
duty, and Companies A, F, and G were sent to the 
skirmish line, while the rest of the regiment was held 
in reserve. The surgeon sent an ambulance to take 
me to the hospital. Although I had eaten nothing for 
forty-eight hours, and was very weak, I insisted upon 
going with the regiment, and was detailed to command 
the skirmishers. I swallowed a tumbler of whiskey, 
and mounted my horse, and during the day lived on 
whiskey. I was on the skirmish line all day. We had 
twenty men killed and wounded out of about seventy- 
five on the skirmish line. Of these, three were from 
Company A, one each from Companies B, E, and I, six 
from Company F, and four from Company G. This 
is sometimes called the skirmish at Summit Point. r 

Sheridan's retreat from Cedar Creek was accounted 
for. Early was reinforced by Kershaw's division from 
Longstreet's corps and two brigades of cavalry under 
Lee. 

At nightfall, I was able to get some fresh milk and 
bread, and I ate heartily the first meal I had enjoyed 
for seventy-two hours. After dark we were withdrawn 
from the skirmish line, packed up and retreated to the 
vicinity of Harper's Ferry, where we occupied a strong 
defensive position between the Potomac and Shenan- 
doah rivers. 

Monday, August 226.. Last night moved back to 

1 In the affair here referred to, the Second Rhode Island and the 
Thirty-seventh Massachusetts were engaged, and General Sheridan 
reports to General Grant on the 22d: "The skirmishing was at one 
time yesterday rather sharp in front of the latter command [Sixth Corps], 
as the line was pressed forward and drove the enemy from a crest in our 
front which they occupied early in the day" (0. R., xliii., pt. 1, p. 880). 
See War Map 82 (6).— C. S. 



Washington to Frederick and Halltown 271 

Harper's Ferry, and resumed the lines which we occu- 
pied from August 7th to 10th, near Halltown. About 
11 a.m., our division was ordered out on a reconnois- 
sance. I was too much used up to go, and remained 
in camp at brigade headquarters. The division went 
out one and a half miles and halted, and there was no 
further movement. In the afternoon we had fine 
showers. I stayed over night at brigade headquarters. 

Tuesday, August 23d. I rejoined the regiment this 
morning, and found them encamped in a beautiful 
grove on a hill, commanding a fine view of the Valley 
of the Shenandoah. The Twenty- third Pennsylvania 
Volunteers went home, their term of service having 
expired. Colonel Montague is in command of the 
brigade. 

Thursday, August 25th. Made our ordnance returns 
for the second quarter of 1864. A reconnoissance made 
this afternoon showed the Rebs still in force in our 
front. 

In a letter of this date to his classmate, M. F. Dickin- 
son, he wrote from Camp near Halltown, Va.: 

I have just eaten breakfast, if so I may dignify my frugal 
meal of hardtack and pork, and to settle it I know of no 
better recipe than a half hour's conversation with you. I 
wish I could do it in the good old-fashioned way, in a large 
arm chair slightly tipped back, with feet upon the stove 
or mantel. How we would sit and talk! But as I am 
allowed no such luxury, the best substitute I have is by 
letter. 

We have had a pleasant little trip up the valley as far as 
Cedar Creek, and spent one day pleasantly at Winchester on 
the way down. The officers at brigade headquarters had a 
delightful time with the Winchester ladies. They found 
one or two very agreeable Union families, and all the officers 



272 Recollections of the Civil War 

agreed that the Winchester young ladies were beautiful 
and charming. Last Sunday we had a brisk little fight at 
Charlestown. I was in the skirmish line with three com- 
panies from our regiment. I lost six men from about 
twenty -five that I took in from my company — Jo Taylor, 
Eben Wiley, John and Pat Briton among them. I have 
not a sergeant left in my company. 

Last night I had a pleasant chat with Macomber. He is 
just as full of fun and humor as he always was, and has any 
quantity of yarns to tell about his numerous campaignings, 
and tells them in his own amusing way. Colonel Edwards 
has gone home to Springfield for a visit with his wife, and 
this leaves Lieutenant-Colonel Montague in command of 
the brigade. For although we have six regiments in our 
brigade, we have no officers higher than lieutenant-colonel. 
What is to be the end of all this marching and countermarch- 
ing up and down the Shenandoah Valley, I cannot imagine. 
It is a question in my mind whether Washington or Rich- 
mond is really in the most danger. It is most vexatious to 
a soldier to be compelled to work so hard and see no results. 

Ruf is doing very finely these days and does not seem to 
suffer much from his wounds. He is waiting very quietly 
for that commission to turn up. . . . Tell Goodell he owes 
me a letter. If he does not write me pretty soon, he will 
owe me another. 

Oh! if this cruel war was over, how I would enjoy engag- 
ing in some civilized pursuit as you and Goodell are! I 
am sick to death of this business. It sometimes seems as 
if I could not possibly stay another year. Still I suppose I 
shall await the decisions of time. I must go to work on my 
company papers. I miss George Cook here. He always 
used to help me at such times. 1 

1 The Thirty-seventh Regiment remained at Halltown until the 31st 
of August, when with the whole army it moved to Charlestown, where it 
remained until the 3d of September, when it marched to Clifton, where 
the position was intrenched, and the command remained until the 19th. 
There is little in the diary of interest, and no letters; and the happenings 



Washington to Frederick and Halltown 273 

In a letter to his brother Will, dated Clifton, September 
16th, he wrote: 

The War Department has just issued the order consoli- 
dating the Tenth and Seventh Massachusetts Detachments 
(the veterans of those regiments) with our regiment. So 
that will fill us up to the minimum number so that we can 
have second lieutenants in our regiment, and it will make 
room for ten or twelve promotions. 

It will be rather good once more to have a full comple- 
ment of officers. Now if they would only give us recruits 
enough to fill us up full, we should feel as if we amounted to 
something. There are so many away from these regiments 
at present that it will not in reality add much to our martial 
strength. Captain Lincoln has gone to Washington on 
business for the corps to see about the forwarding of 
recruits and convalescents to this department. He will be 
gone some four or five days, and have quite a pleasant little 
recreation, get paid, etc. We are living on the fat of the 
land these days. Foraging parties go out almost every day 
and bring in sheep, lambs, cows, pigs, fruit, and honey. 
This Shenandoah Valley is the richest country we ever 
campaigned in . A great many of the officers have provided 
themselves with cows, and keep them, and have fresh milk 
continually. 

We don't have our baggage out here because we are 
liable to a fight at any time, and don't wish to be encum- 
bered in that event. This is rather an inconvenience, as 
at this time there is a good deal of writing to be done. 

were of so little interest to Captain Tyler that some days he has made 
no entries in the diary. All that is recorded pertains to the ordinary 
routine^of camp life, such as the making out of returns, picket duty, 
acting as officers of the day, the results of foraging parties, an account of 
rain and shine, receiving letters, and visits to and from friends. — C. S. 



CHAPTER XVII 
THE BATTLE OF WINCHESTER 1 

SEPTEMBER 1 9, 1 864 

[Introduction. — The campaign in the valley had not 
been satisfactory to the lieutenant-general, and had been the 
theme of a great deal of criticism in the Northern papers. 
The siege of Petersburg could not be pressed with the vigor 
the chief desired because of the absence in the valley of the 
troops detached from his army, and on the 17th he paid a 
visit to General Sheridan at Charlestown. 

In the opinion of some military critics, General Early had 
up to this time conducted his affairs with consummate skill 
and judgment, but not without a boldness that sometimes 
approached rashness. Two or three times he had given 
Sheridan an opportunity to strike, rarely offered an oppos- 
ing general. This led General Early to say in a report to 
the Confederate government that ' ' the events of the last 
month had satisfied him that the commander opposed to 
him was without enterprise and possessed of an excessive 
caution which amounted to timidity." But while making 
a rather perilous move to prevent the repairing of the Balti- 
more and Ohio Railroad, he heard at the telegraph office at 
Martinsburg that Grant was at Charlestown with Sheridan, 
and he divined at once that something was likely to take 
place, and acted accordingly. 

General Grant had warned General Sheridan almost every 

'For maps of the battle of Winchester, see War Map 99 (1), and 
Sheridan's Memoirs, vol. ii., p. 26, map. 

274 



The Battle of Winchester 275 

day since he took command of the Department to be cautious, 
but he usually encouraged him to strike if it was practicable. 
He now listened to Sheridan's plans, kept his own carefully 
written order in his pocket, as he found that only two words 
of instructions were necessary : ' ' Go in. " The laconic order 
of the lieutenant-general was soon felt through the army, 
and we find in the diary indications of the coming struggle. 
General Grant had hardly left Charlestown when orders 
were issued by Sheridan for an advance. 

The Union lines on the morning of the 18th extended from 
Summit Point on the right to White Post on the left, a 
distance of some fifteen miles, but the infantry was massed 
between Clifton and Berry ville, and was about seven or 
eight miles from the battlefield of the next day. 

The account of the battle of Winchester was written out 
quite fully by Colonel Tyler. It would be interesting to 
know what part Colonel Tyler took at the critical moment 
in this fight, but he has quoted Official Records to show the 
part — which was an important one — taken by his regiment, 
and, as will be seen hereafter, his own conduct was such as 
to attract the attention of his commanding officers. 

The plan on which the battle of Winchester was fought 
was not the plan which General Sheridan had submitted to 
the lieutenant-general and which received his approval. 
This plan proposed to march the Union army south of Win- 
chester, and put it across the enemy's line of retreat. But 
from the position of the Rebel army, as Sheridan saw it upon 
his return from Charlestown, he thought it best to fight the 
enemy in divisions. He thought he could by a rapid move- 
ment, crush Ramseur at Winchester before he could be 
reinforced by Gordon and Rodes, who were some distance 
to the north. There is a deep gorge or woody ravine about 
two miles long through which his army had to pass. Wilson, 
with the cavalry, dashed through it in the morning and 
carried the earthworks which had been erected to defend it. 
He should have been supported by the Sixth and Nineteenth 
Corps, but their progress was impeded in the gorge by 



276 Recollections of the Civil War 

ambulance and ammunition wagons. The Sixth Corps 
was seven hours in making as many miles. The conse- 
quence was that Early was reinforced by the divisions of 
Gordon and Rodes before the battle began, and Sheridan 
had to fight the whole Rebel army occupying an advan- 
tageous position. 1 

It is noted in the diary that the wagon train came up 
and distributed rations, and was ordered to the rear ; that 
marching orders were issued and countermanded at 5 
o'clock. 

From Clifton, on Sunday morning, September 18th, he 
wrote to his parents, and the letter is a striking illustration 
of how little, at the time, even an intelligent soldier knows 
of the movements of the army of which he is a member. — 
C. S.] 

Letter of September 16th: 

I have just an hour to write you a letter this morning 
during which I presume I shall have more than a dozen 
interruptions, as even on this Sunday morning they are 
issuing rations, making out requisitions, etc. General 
Grant was here this week, and it is predicted that he was 
here to some purpose. This morning the teams have come 
up with our valises and allowed us to put on a clean shirt, 
and are going right back, it is said. So things look a little 
as if we were on the eve of a move. Whether we chase 
Early or go to Petersburg is a question. For the past few 
days we have been busy with the consolidation of the de- 
tachments of the Seventh and Tenth with our regiment. 

J\ /I ONDAY, September 19th. We were up at 2 a.m., 
■ * ■ with orders to march at 3, and we started prompt- 
ly, but progress was slow after we crossed the Opequon, 
owing to the narrow roads, which werebadly blocked with 
troops and ammunition wagons. We reached the field 

1 Sheridan's Memoirs, vol. ii., pp. 9-31. 



The Battle of Winchester 277 

selected for the deployment of the troops, and imme- 
diately got into line. The Second and Third Divisions 
formed the front or first line of battle, and the First 
Division (ours) was in reserve or second line of battle, 
separated from them by the Berryville turnpike. x Our 
brigade was on the right of the turnpike. 2 

Cannonading was heard in the morning. But the 
fight commenced about noon, and the advance for 
a while was rapid. A gap developed between the Third 
Division and the Nineteenth Corps to our right, because 
the Third Division was ordered to maintain its connec- 
tion on the left with the turnpike, and this obliged them 
to oblique to the left. The enemy attacked our line 
at this gap, and attempted to break through. General 
Russell ordered Upton into the breach, and led the 
brigade with Upton by his side. Russell had been pre- 
viously shot through the body, but maintained his seat 
in his saddle until he was killed at the head of the charg- 
ing column by the explosion of a shell. He was a 
gallant soldier and idolized by his followers. 3 

A portion of the Thirty-seventh supported the Fifth 
Maine battery, which was pouring canister into the 
advancing Rebel column. But when summoned by 
Russell, the Thirty-seventh advanced into the gap, and 
with their Spencer rifles rendered very efficient service 
in stopping the breach made by the Rebels at the point 
where the Sixth Corps and the Nineteenth Corps should 
have joined. Rebel prisoners captured in this advance 

1 See War Map 99 (1), showing the positions occupied at the battle of 
Winchester. For larger environs, see War Map 27 (1). The same 
positions are stated by Sheridan in vol. ii. of his Memoirs, at the top of 
page 20. 

* This is explained in General Dalton's report, below. See p. 281. 

3 Sheridan's Memoirs, vol. ii., pp. 22-23. 



278 Recollections of the Civil War 

asked what kind of a gun we had that could be loaded 
all night and fired all day. We blocked their advance 
and drove them back into their proper line. Upton was 
wounded in this charge, and Sheridan improved the 
opportunity to reform his lines. We rested two hours ; 
meanwhile a division of cavalry arrived, x and the Eighth 
Corps was placed in position on the right of our line. 

Sheridan started the cavalry and the Eighth Corps 
turned the Confederate left flank, and then rode with 
his staff at a full gallop, waving his sword, just in the 
rear of our advancing line of battle. It was a most 
inspiring scene. We were not used to seeing a com- 
manding general on the front line of battle, and the 
exploding shells and the whistling bullets added excite- 
ment to the scene. We went forward at double quick, 
drove the Rebels out of their intrenchments, which, 
in our front, consisted of fences and thickets on the edge 
of a field, half wooded and half cleared, and in spots 
turned into rifle-pits. It was in this charge that 
Charley Bard well was shot through the body. 

It was now a lively chase. We were in hot pursuit 
and they were running to the rear as fast as they could, 
and in the distance we could see our cavalry gradually 
sweeping around their left flank. We drove them back 
on Winchester, and they escaped through the town and 
over the turnpike to the South. We captured some 
2500 prisoners, crowding as many of the privates as we 
could into the court-house and yard and confining the 
officers in the jail yard. 

1 The cavalry here referred to were " Merritt's brigades led by Custer, 
Lovell, and Devin," who had just come in on the Martinsburg pike from 
the North. When they got the word to go, Sheridan says, they "lit- 
erally rode down a battery of five guns and took about 1200 prisoners " 
(Sheridan's Memoirs, vol. ii., pp. [I, 24, and 26). — C. S. 



The Battle of Winchester 279 

The Thirty-seventh went into the fight with 276 
muskets, and lost twelve enlisted men killed, and seven 
officers and seventy-two men wounded — a total of 
ninety-one. x It was our largest percentage loss in any 
single battle. I was wounded by a piece of shell which 
just grazed my chin and cut it to the bone, passing very 
close to the jugular vein. 

The ladies of Winchester turned out in large numbers, 
and brought food and dainties to the prisoners. Colo- 
nel Edwards was appointed commander of the post, 
with headquarters at Winchester. His brigade was 
detailed for garrison duty. Lieutenant-Colonel Mon- 
tague was made provost marshal, and the Thirty- 
seventh Regiment became the provost guard. The 
Thirty-seventh was lodged in the city and the other 
regiments of the brigade were encamped around the 
city, on different sides. The Thirty-seventh really did 
police duty ; the other regiments performed picket and 
guard duty. I took possession of one of the offices in 
the building opposite the court-house. It was a deso- 
late, windowless, dirty place, but we fixed up some 
benches along the walls of our room, and spread our 
blankets upon them, and by day thej^ were lounges, and 
at night they were beds. 

Col. Edwards reports: 

This brigade [Third Brigade, First Division, Sixth Corps] 
with the rest of the corps left its camp near Clifton, Va., 
on the morning of the 19th instant. Shortly after 3 o'clock 
reached the Opequon and crossed not long after sunrise. 
The enemy were met in force about two miles southwest 
of that stream. The brigade was placed in position on the 
left of the turnpike, in columns of battalions at full distance, 
at right angles with the line of battle, with instructions to 

*0. R., xliii., pt. 1, p. 112. 



280 Recollections of the Civil War 

move by the right flank and keep 300 yards in rear of the 
line and move forward when the first line advanced. In 
this position the command suffered severely from a hot 
and continuous fire from the enemy's artillery. 

At 11.40 the column commenced to move forward, 
coming into line of battle immediately after passing through 
the first belt of woods. Thus the brigade continued its 
forward movement under quite a severe fire until ordered to 
move double quick to the right of the road, as the enemy had 
broken through the line of the Nineteenth Corps. Seeing 
the enemy had got to the rear and right of us, I ordered 
Lieutenant-Colonel Montague, commanding the Thirty- 
seventh Massachusetts Volunteers, to attack them at that 
point. At the same time the enemy came out of the woods 
in front of us in two lines of battle and charged. I ad- 
vanced my brigade with bayonets at the charge, forcing 
the fugitives in front to lie down as we passed over them. 
We opened fire at 150 yards range and drove the enemy 
back handsomely. At the same time, Lieutenant-Colonel 
Montague drove the enemy back from the rear and right, 
taking 150 prisoners and inflicting severe loss upon the 
enemy, though I regret to say the Thirty-seventh Massa- 
chusetts lost over one third its number. Nothing but their 
Spencer rifles enabled them to defeat more than five times 
their number. 

Capt. H. H. Young, brigade inspector, and Lieutenant 
Colt, seeing the battery on the left of the road in danger of 
capture, placed the Forty-ninth Pennsylvania Volunteers in 
support, who handsomely repulsed the enemy and flanked 
that part of their line that was in front of the balance of the 
brigade on the right of the turnpike. General Russell was 
killed at this time charging with my brigade. 

As soon as the lines were reformed on our right, an 
advance was ordered. We moved steadily forward, driving 
the enemy before us. General Upton was wounded, and 
turned over the command of the division to me. Again the 
advance was ordered and the division charged across the 



The Battle of Winchester 281 

open country in magnificent line and order up to the heights 
of Winchester. The enemy broke before us and were 
routed. The Forty-ninth Pennsylvania Volunteers saved 
Cowan's battery, and the Thirty-seventh Massachusetts 
Volunteers saved Stevens's. The officers of these two artil- 
lery organizations acknowledged that these regiments suc- 
ceeded in preventing the enemy from capturing their pieces. 
The Thirty-seventh Massachusetts Volunteers also cap- 
tured the battle-flag of the Second Virginia Infantry, and 
the Forty-ninth Pennsylvania the headquarters flag of 
General Fitzhugh Lee. 1 

General Upton, commanding Second Brigade, First 
Division, in his report says : " On the left of the brigade, 
the Thirty-seventh Massachusetts Volunteers rendered 
invaluable service in supporting Stevens's battery." 2 

The report says General Upton was called to the 
command of the brigade at 12:30. This must have 
been the hour of General Russell's death. 

Report of Henry R. Dalton, assistant adjutant-general, 
First Division, Sixth Corps, says : 

On Monday, the 19th instant, the division broke camp at 
2 a.m.; moved across country to the Berry ville pike; from 
thence via the pike to within three miles of Winchester, 
when it went in position in support of the other divisions of 
the corps — the First Brigade, Lieut. -Col. E. L. Campbell, 
Fifteenth New Jersey Volunteers, commanding, supporting 
the Third Division on the left of the pike ; the Third Brigade, 
Col. O. Edwards, Thirty- seventh Massachusetts Volunteers, 
commanding, on the left of the pike, supporting the Second 
Division; the Second Brigade [General Upton] moving by 
the flank up the pike. 

The enemy, having pushed back the Second Division of 

1 O. R., xliii., pt. 1, pp. 184-5. "Id., p. 173. 



282 Recollections of the Civil War 

the Nineteenth Corps and a portion of the Third Division 
of this corps, moved down toward the pike, delivering a 
severe fire of musketry from the woods and cornfields on 
the right. The Third Brigade (Edwards's) was now rapidly 
moved by the flank to the right of the pike, then forward, 
with the First Brigade, under a heavy fire, to a crest com- 
manding the woods and field through which the enemy 
moved. This advance was very much assisted by the First 
New York Battery (Cowan's), commanded by Lieutenant 
Johnson, which did splendid execution, and was fought with 
gallantry under a very annoying musketry fire. 

At this time, General Upton moved his brigade into line 
to the right of the pike at an oblique angle to it, thence 
forward into the woods, delivering heavy volleys into masses 
of the enemy, who were coming up. This fresh fire from 
the Second Brigade soon caused the enemy to fall back, so 
that the whole line moved forward to a position which was 
easily held till the latter part of the afternoon, though 
occasionally sharp musketry fire was interchanged. 

While personally superintending the advance of the 
First and Third Brigades to the crest previously referred to, 
and which he considered of the utmost importance, Gen- 
eral Russell was killed by a piece of shell which passed 
through his heart. He had just before received a bullet 
wound in the left breast, but had not mentioned this to any 
of his staff, continuing to urge forward his troops. In this 
advance, Capt. A. M. Tyler, commissary of musters of the 
division, was severely wounded in the hand while leading 
the Thirty-seventh Massachusetts Volunteers belonging 
to the Third Brigade. 

On the death of General Russell, Brig. -Gen. Emory Upton 
assumed command by order of Maj.-Gen. H. G. Wright, 
but there being necessarily some delay in giving informa- 
tion of General Russell's death to General Wright, and 
transmitting the order of General Wright to General Upton 
to take command, Col. O. Edwards superintended the 
movements of his own and the First Brigade, carrying out 






The Battle of Winchester 283 

the design of General Russell, which he did, fighting his 
troops with great gallantry and coolness. 

The formation of the division, after the engagement of 
the morning, being from left to right, Third Brigade, 
First Brigade, Second Brigade — the left resting near the 
house on or near the pike — the right brigade crotcheted to 
the rear and one regiment on its right at right angles, mak- 
ing a connection with the general line of the Nineteenth 
Corps, Brigadier-General Grover's division, though in 
advance of it some 150 yards. 

At 4 p.m. the enemy, having been routed on the right by 
the charge of General Crook's troops, moved down in some 
confusion along the front of the Nineteenth Corps and that 
of the Second Brigade. This being observed, General 
Upton ordered the right regiment, mentioned above, to 
move forward " double quick" to a crest some 200 yards in 
advance, which it did under an annoying musketry fire; 
from this crest a well-directed fire on the enemy caused him 
to continue his flight in still greater confusion than before. 
The remainder of this brigade was then swung round and 
forwarded, the left being the pivot, and a connection was 
formed with General Crook's command, Col. George D. 
Wells's brigade, when a general advance was made from 
crest to crest, the enemy giving way without serious 
opposition. 

During this general advance, Brigadier-General Upton 
was wounded by a shell while urging forward the troops. 
The command then devolved upon Col. O. Edwards, Thirty- 
seventh Massachusetts Volunteers, under whose superin- 
tendence the division made its final forward movement, 
carrying the last crest contested for by the enemy. r 

1 O. R., xliii., pt. i, pp. 163-4. See War Map 69 (2), and Sheridan's 
Personal Memoirs, ii., 26, map. 



CHAPTER XVIII 
AT WINCHESTER 

FROM SEPTEMBER 20 TO DECEMBER 12, 1864 

[Introduction. — The night after the battle of Win- 
chester, General Early retired in hot haste to a strong posi- 
tion at Fisher's Hill. At five o'clock the next morning, 
General Sheridan moved rapidly up the Valley pike, and 
at one o'clock the Sixth Corps were crossing Cedar Creek, 
and the cavalry, under General Merritt, were occupying 
the heights of Strasbourg, about two miles north of the 
enemy's position. 

The Union general occupied the 21st in examining the 
enemy's position, and the next day, the 226., dealt him a 
very damaging blow, inflicting upon him heavy losses in 
killed, wounded, and captured. The Third Brigade, Second 
Division, Sixth Corps, did not take part in the battle of 
Fisher's Hill, as they had been detailed for guard duty 
at Winchester, where the Thirty-seventh remained until 
the 1 2th of December. From the nature of the case, the 
situation was not always an easy or a pleasant one. 

Unfortunately, the notes in the diary give very little 
idea of what was going on at Winchester for a few days after 
the battle. They would probably have brought to the mind 
of the writer many things that would be exceedingly inter- 
esting, for it was a time of intense activity. While General 
Sheridan was fighting the battle of Fisher's Hill, Colonel 
Edwards was clearing up the battlefield at Winchester, 

284 



At Winchester 285 

picking up the scattered arms and various implements of 
war, burying the dead, bringing in the wounded of both 
sides, providing for their wants, and sending off prisoners 
to Harper's Ferry. 

Colonel Edwards reports: "All wagons that could be 
seized have been impressed into the service for the purpose 
of collecting and bringing in the wounded. ... I have 
had all the wagons belonging to my brigade unloaded, and 
they are now arduously at work on this duty. One hun- 
dred wagons in all . . . reported to the medical director 
by my order at daylight this morning." 1 

The medical director on the 24th reports: "I sent yes- 
terday 700 wounded to Sandy Hook hospital. There are 
still 3800 here, including 700 Rebels. I learn that more 
wounded men are on their way to this place from the front. 
I must send to Harper's Ferry the slightly wounded as 
rapidly as possible. 3 

On the 28th, Col. Edwards reports: "The medical di- 
rector has about 2500 wounded here; they will not bear 
removal for six weeks, that is, with the exception of about 
500.3— C. s.] 

TUESDAY, September 20th. Received more prisoners, 
making 1500. Sent the officers to the Winchester 
jail. Had no rations for them. 4 The citizens are very 
attentive. The air is full of rumors. Our brigade 
occupies the city and the rest of the corps have gone on 
with Sheridan in pursuit of the enemy. I called on 
Major Davis and Captain Drew in the prison yard and 
took them some whiskey. I was busy all day making 

1 O. R., xliii., pt. 2, p. 146. * Id., p. 163. 

3 Id., 2, p. 201. 

"On the 20th, General Sheridan telegraphed General Stevenson at 
Harper's Ferry: " Send in addition to the eight days' rations ordered last 
night for the troops, 20,000 rations to Winchester for our prisoners and 
wounded" ( Id., 2, p. 125). — C. S. 



286 Recollections of the Civil War 

out lists of the prisoners, and watching them to see 
that none escaped. 

Wednesday, September 21st. Colonel Edwards 
returned from the front where he temporarily com- 
manded the division. He sets to work to reorganize 
things with a strong hand. The hospitals here, espe- 
cially the Rebel hospital, are in very bad condition. 
General Neill returned to-day. * 

Thursday, September 226.. Started the prisoners 
this morning to the rear, and we went to work to police 
the camp and the city as thoroughly as we could. Our 
baggage arrived to-day. At Fisher's Hill, Sheridan 
drove Early's forces from their intrenched camp by a 
flank movement, executed by the Eighth Corps (Gen- 
eral Crook's), 2 and captured 1000 prisoners and twenty 
guns. Great rejoicing in the North over our victory 
of the 19th. One hundred guns fired in each of the 
military departments. 

On the 23d of September, 1864, Professor William S. 
Tyler wrote from Amherst to his son at Winchester some- 
thing of the anxieties of the families and friends at home: 

I had hoped to learn whether you are yet in the land of 
the living or have fallen among the hundreds of dead and 
thousands of wounded in the late glorious battle — before 
writing you again. But we hear nothing from you since 

1 It will be remembered that Captain Tyler was at one time a member 
of General Neill's official family. On the 20th, the order sending Gen- 
eral Neill to report for duty to General Wright was "rescinded and he 
was ordered to proceed to Martinsburg and assume command of the post 
there" (O. R., xliii., pt. 2, p. 119).— C. S. 

2 Crook's corps was joined by the Sixth, which seems to have had an 
equal share in the victory. See Sheridan's reports, O. R., id., pp. 152, 
162, and Memoirs, pp. 37, 38. This explains the reference to the Sixth 
in the letter of the 23d, at page 288 below. — C. S. 



At Winchester 287 

the battle — your last date received being Sunday, the 18th, 
and we get as yet very meagre reports of the casualties. 
From the correspondent of the Herald of to-day, however, 
I glean enough to show that the Thirty-seventh has not 
escaped without serious losses — the names of Captain 
Loomis, Captain Pierce, Lieutenant Harris, Lieutenant 
Cozens, Lieutenant Bardwell, the last to our great sorrow 
reported "dangerous." We derive some encouragement 
from the fact that your name does not appear in a list 
which gives so many casualties in your regiment. . . . 
Dr. Hackett, in a letter just received, adds a postscript, 
saying: "I often think of your son in the army, and trust 
his life has been preserved, and that he will return to you 
in safety." A recent letter from Grandpa Tyler and one 
from Grandma Whiting both express a similar interest in 
you, and everybody I meet down town inquires if I have 
heard from you since the battle. 

By the way, the battle is knocking down gold and goods, 
etc., faster than even the fall of Atlanta. Gold is reported 
this noon at 213, and goods and produce are falling quite as 
rapidly, as I fondly hope not to rise again. 

A letter to his brother dated September 23, 1864, refers 
to the battle of Winchester: 

I have just written Hen and I will try and drop you a line, 
although, as the mail goes very soon, I don't know as I shall 
be able to get it off this morning. We have had a big fight 
and whipped old Early soundly. The Thirty-seventh 
Regiment did splendidly. They lost one third of their men, 
but took more prisoners than they lost men. We got the 
battle-flag of the famous Stonewall Regiment, the Second 
Virginia. It was stamped with the names of thirteen battles 
that they had figured prominently in. I received a slight 
scratch under my chin, but it did not take me from duty a 
moment. Charley Bardwell did splendidly, and was very 
severely wounded through the body just at the close of the 



288 Recollections of the Civil War 

action. He is comfortable now, but we watch him very 
carefully and with great anxiety. 

I have a Colt's revolver, navy size, which I picked up on 
the field. I think I will send it to you at the first oppor- 
tunity, or I may keep it through the campaign, and then let 
you have it to keep until I get through the war at least. 
It will amuse you in some of your leisure time. 

This Winchester is a beautiful place, or rather, has been. 
I think it must have had six or eight thousand inhabitants, 
and is very compactly built. Now the stores and public 
buildings are all deserted, and there are very few male 
inhabitants that are not over sixty years of age. They 
have some of the prettiest girls here I ever saw, and any 
quantity of them. 

This morning has just brought the news that Sheridan 
has driven the enemy from Fisher's Hill, and has pursued 
them beyond Woodstock. The Sixth Corps flanked them 
and took sixteen guns and iooo prisoners. 1 I did not tell you 
why I am here in Winchester. Colonel Edwards is military 
governor of the place and our brigade occupies the town. 
Colonel Montague is provost marshal and our regiment is 
provost guard. Until yesterday morning we had some 
1500 Reb prisoners under our charge. We occupy some of 
the offices that surround the court-house and have very 
pleasant quarters. 

I picked up a little darkey that was taken prisoner in this 
fight and shall keep him as my servant. I think he will 
make a first-rate one. He has been a slave, and was with 
his master who was a captain in a Georgia regiment. 

You had better believe everybody is in high glee. The 
good news cheers them up, and then the thought that we 
should gain such victories in the place where we have so 
often suffered defeat makes success doubly welcome. I 
have picked up a horse, saddle, and bridle since I have been 
in this march. I don't know as I shall be able to keep him, 
but I shall try for a while at least. It is too late for this 

1 See p. 286. 



At Winchester 289 

morning's mail, so I shall not send this until to-morrow. If 
I have time I shall add a little more. 

On a fragment of a letter without date {probably written 
the day after the above letter as he refers to the letter), he 
wrote : 

We are living on the fat of the land these days. We keep 
a cow and a horse, so that I can have bread and milk for 
supper every night, and milk in my coffee and tea. Then 
I can indulge in the pleasure of an occasional ride on horse- 
back. In my peregrinations to hunt up the Rebs, I have 
found it very pleasant to ride sometimes. I also have a 
darkey who is quite a specimen. I got him out of this lot of 
Reb prisoners. He is rather slow, but I think will learn to 
move quickly in time, and he seems to be as faithful as the 
day is long. I think I shall like him as soon as we become 
acquainted. . . . 

Did you know that it is very probable that the Thirty- 
seventh sharpshooters shot General Rodes in the battle of 
Monday? As near as we can find out from Rebel state- 
ments, he was engaged in putting the battery that we 
silenced into position, when he was struck by the ball of a 
sharpshooter. At the time he is said to have been killed, 
our regiment was almost the only one that was doing any 
firing. It was about 12.30 when we advanced alone and 
drove the Rebs before us, and this battery was brought up 
to oppose us. That was the time that I got scratched. 

Sunday, September 25th. I attended the Episcopal 
church this morning. It is the only one of the local 
churches that was open. 

Monday, September 26th. Devoted the day to taking 
lists of all the attendants on the Rebel wounded in the 
city of Winchester. 

Wednesday, September 28th. Very busy day in 
preparing muster rolls and working on lists covering 



290 Recollections of the Civil War 

Rebel hospitals. Had a pleasant talk with Dr. Love, 
in charge of Rebel hospitals, this afternoon. In front 
of Petersburg, two divisions from each of the Fifth and 
Ninth Corps extended our lines about two miles to the 
left and held the ground, afterwards fortified by Fort 
Fisher. 

Thursday, September 29th. Paymaster arrived last 
evening and paid us this morning. Charley Bard well 
comfortable. 

Winchester, Oct. 2, 1864. 

My dear Parents : 

I have just arisen from the breakfast table, and the 
news has come that Grant has thrown his army between 
Petersburg and Richmond, capturing several guns and some 
prisoners. What is the exact amount of damage done to 
Rebel lines we are as yet unable to learn, as the newspapers 
that were to bring us the account of these movements were 
captured by Mosby. But what we do hear is so cheering 
that we are all jubilant this morning, and feel that some- 
thing is being done towards plucking out the heart of the 
Rebel Confederacy, viz., Richmond. May the Ruler of 
all things grant that this day our armies may rest with the 
satisfaction of having done that work. For I believe Rich- 
mond has already fallen. I supposed last summer that 
Grant intended to cut the road between Petersburg and 
Richmond, and then take his choice whether he would take 
Petersburg or Richmond. But he decided differently and I 
presume wisely at the time. I hear that Grant has received 
since the second battle on the Weldon Railroad, 70,000 
reinforcements. In that case he has something of an army. 

I have been busy all the week paroling Rebs in the hos- 
pitals in this place. It is something of a job, and I am not 
quite through with it. There are some 800 wounded Rebs 
and about 200 attendants taking care of them. I have 
charge of this department of the business in the provost 



At Winchester 291 

marshal's office, and if any of these come to the office and 
wish anything, they are referred to me. 

Captain Lincoln, you know, has been up to Washington, 
and brought down some 1300 recruits, convalescents, etc., 
to our corps. He took them up to the front at Harrison- 
burg, and delivered them over to the proper authorities, 
and returned Friday afternoon. He reports that they were 
almost out of rations when he left, and the trains could not 
be up for three days; so they cannot support our army at 
that distance from its base a great while at this season. 1 
They have got to do one of two things, change on to the Cul- 
peper line and open that railroad again, or starve it through 
on what rations they can get from our trains and the 
country, until they have accomplished their errand up the 
valley. For undoubtedly we have an important part to 
play in the drama that is enacting before Richmond. 

I have President Hopkins's baccalaureate sermon 
preached at Williamstown this last Commencement, and 
have promised myself the treat of reading it to-day. Our 
chaplain, I understand, has returned, although I have not 
seen him. So maybe we shall have service to-day for 
ourselves. 

I have just returned from our service. Mr. Lane arrived 
last night and was rejoiced to find Charley Bard well very 
comfortable. This afternoon he gave us the best sermon 
that I have heard for a year, from the first verse of the 
twelfth chapter of Romans. His remarks were practical, 
pointed, and well suited to the occasion. We have plenty 
of room here, so Mr. Morse has taken as his chapel a nice 
room a short distance from here on the opposite side of the 
street. This afternoon two ladies, delegates from the 
Christian Commission, were present to aid the singing. 
One, Mrs. Harris, claims to have been the first field agent of 
the Christian Commission. The other, a Mrs. Beck, is a 

1 The diary remarks Harrisonburg is eighty miles from the base of 
the army at Martinsburg which makes it difficult to provision and 
supply the army. 



292 Recollections of the Civil War 

good deal younger than Mrs. Harris, and has been a shorter 
time at the work, I think. She tells me that she spent some 
time at Mrs. Tuckerman's this summer, and was there 
during Commencement. So I had quite a pleasant chat 
with her about Amherst. 

These two ladies are very devoted in their atten- 
tions to the soldiers, and spend most of their time in the 
hospital. 

This morning I attended the Episcopal church again, 
as it is the only church in the place that is open. After the 
service they administered the sacrament. The ceremony 
was beautiful and the occasion a very solemn one. It was 
the first time I ever saw the sacrament as administered by 
the Episcopalians. . . . 

Ever your affec. son, 

Mase. 

The same day, he wrote to his classmate, M. F. 
Dickinson : 

It is some days since I received your last. To me they 
have been days of busy occupation. In fact, ever since 
the battle we have been in one continuous bustle of excite- 
ment. We have had some 3000 prisoners to guard at one 
time or another, and now that we have only the care of the 
city upon our shoulders, it gives us no slight labor. My 
special charge has been the enrolling and paroling of the 
attendants upon the Reb hospitals in the city. There are 
some 200 attendants upon 800 wounded herein the city. . . . 
Ruf has been up to the front with some 1300 convalescents 
and has just got back last Friday afternoon. He is tough 
and hearty. So yesterday afternoon, while it was raining 
hard, I sat down and beat him a rubber of cribbage. I am 
reading John Halifax greatly to my delight. 

Wednesday, October 5th. General Sheridan began 
his retreat down the valley. The cavalry were ordered 



At Winchester 293 

to devastate the valley — mills, storehouses, barns, and 
crops were to be burned. 1 

Thursday, October 6th. Charley Bardwell died this 
morning. 

1 During the months of October, November, and December, the record 
in the diary is meagre, and the letters seem to have taken its place in the 
mind of the writer. Indeed, most that is recorded in the diary is repor- 
ted in the letters. The position of the soldier doing guard duty in so 
important a place as Winchester, situated in a very disloyal section of 
the country, was not a bed of roses. Mosby and Gilmor were ever on 
the alert, with every advantage of information and knowledge of the 
country in their favor, and made the post one of constant anxiety and 
wearing vigilance. 

The Union army had occupied Harrisonburg on the 30th of September 
but the cavalry had been pushed on to Staunton and Charlottesville, 
and the valley was now virtually clear of Rebel troops. Bushwhackers 
were, however, abundant, and made it necessary for every train of two 
hundred wagons to have an escort of a thousand infantry and five hun- 
dred cavalry. The trains often contained five hundred wagons, and 
deliberate murders of Union soldiers were not infrequent. It was the 
wish of General Grant that Sheridan should proceed to Gordonsville 
and Charlottesville, and destroy the railroad connections there, and if 
practicable threaten Richmond. But Sheridan had fears about the 
movement, and they were so strong that the lieutenant-general adopted 
his suggestion and consented to the return of the Sixth and Nineteenth 
Corps to Petersburg. There was, however, one order of the lieutenant- 
general that Sheridan carried out in the letter and the spirit. Here is 
the order together with his own enforcing it, to which reference is made 
in the diary: 

" In pushing up the'Shenandoah Valley, as it is expected you will have 
to go first or last, it is desirable that nothing should be left to invite the 
enemy to return. Take all provisions, forage, and stock wanted for the 
use of your command. Such as cannot be consumed, destroy. It is not 
desirable that buildings should be destroyed — they should, rather, be 
protected ; but the people should be informed that, sojong as an army can 
subsist among them, recurrences of these raids must be expected, and we 
are determined to stop them at all hazards. Bear in mind the object is 
to drive the enemy south; and to do this you want to keep him always 
in sight. Be guided in your course by the course he takes. Make your 
own arrangements for supplies of all kinds, giving regular vouchers for 
such as may be taken from loyal citizens." 

General Sheridan's order to his chief of cavalry was: "No houses will 



294 Recollections of the Civil War 

Winchester, Oct. 9, 1864. 

My dear Parents : 

While waiting for the time for church, I may as well 
begin my usual Sunday letter. We are having very cold 
weather these days. In fact, it takes considerable man- 
agement to keep warm either night or day. This morn- 
ing the ground is frozen and the wind blows a bleak 
November chill, while the clouds are so thick that the 
sun is hardly able to peer through at all. We have a 
good fireplace in our room, but the scarcity of wood in this 
neighborhood renders it rather difficult to keep the fireplace 
warm, to say nothing of the room. The lights were pretty 
much all smashed out of the windows when we came here, 
but by picking up new sashes around the town and making 
them double, we have managed to stop a little of the circu- 
lation of the air, and now for almost the first time in two 
years, while sleeping in a building, I have taken a real old- 
fashioned cold, and am suffering from sore throat and 
snuffles in my nose. Still, I am better this morning than I 
was yesterday. Yesterday I sat in the house pretty much 
all day and read Hayne's and Webster's great speeches. I 
think they made me appreciate more fully the greatness of 
the contest in which we are engaged, the worth of union and 
the principles for which we are contending. . . . 

I have had a very pleasant Sabbath to-day. In fact, 
the privilege that we have here of spending a Christian 
Sabbath in something like a Christian neighborhood is more 
like home than any military experience we have previously 
had. The chaplain has a regimental service in the after- 
noon and in the morning I usually attend church in the city, 
and the rest of the day the quiet of my own room affords 
me a place for reading, meditation, and prayer. The quiet 

be burned, and officers in charge of this delicate but necessary duty must 
inform the people that the object is to make this valley untenable for 
the raiding parties of the Rebel army" (Sheridan's Memoirs, vol. i., pp. 
484 and 485). — C. S. 



At Winchester 295 

is as marked here Sunday as in our own New England vil- 
lage. But the churches are too many of them occupied as 
hospitals for all to attend public worship, and I don't know 
but that the clergymen have all gone south. At any rate, 
there is no business transacted and every facility is afforded 
them for worship within the power of the post commandant. 
The rest of the week, Winchester is a very lively business 
place. 

Monday morning. Last night quite a train came in from 
the front bringing a great many refugees; and to see the 
babies, little girls and boys and half-clad mothers shivering 
this bleak, cold night, in their shells of buildings, is a sight 
pitiable to behold. Sheridan has retreated to Fisher's 
Hill and burnt everything from there to Staunton. We 
hardly know what to make of the movements. I suppose, 
however, he knows what he is about, and very likely is 
obeying orders. It was so cold last night I could not sleep 
well. I wish I had my overcoat. 

Ever your son, 

Mason. 

Sunday, October 9th. We hear this evening that 
Custer and Merritt have defeated Rosser at Tom's 
Brook and chased him twenty miles. Tom's Brook is 
crossed by the Valley pike some four or five miles south 
of Fisher's Hill. x 

1 General Early was reinforced on the 5th by a brigade of cavalry 
under the dashing General Rosser. He was hailed as ' ' the saviour of 
the valley," and his men "were bedecked with laurel branches." He 
caused the Union army a good deal of trouble and became very bold in 
his operations. On the 8th, General Sheridan decided to "have Rosser 
chastised," and halting his infantry, gave orders to General Torbert, his 
chief of cavalry, to attack the enemy the next morning, "and whip him 
or get whipped yourself " (Sheridan's Memoirs, ii., 56). General Torbert 
at once made up his command, which consisted of the First and Third 
Divisions of cavalry, Generals Custer and Merritt, and early the next 
morning was in front of the enemy who numbered between four and 
five thousand. General Sheridan made his headquarters that morning 



296 Recollections of the Civil War 

Monday, October 10th. Sheridan retreated to Cedar 
Creek. The Eighth Corps encamped on the east of the 
turnpike, the Nineteenth on the west of it. The Sixth 
Corps marched to the Shenandoah opposite Ashby's 
Gap under orders to return to the Army of the Potomac 
at Petersburg. 

Thursday, October 13th. Early having been rein- 
forced by Kershaw's division (recalled from its return 
to General Lee), suddenly appeared at Fisher's Hill, and 
repulsed an attack made by a portion of the Eighth 
Corps (Thoburn's division) . The Thirty-fourth Massa- 
chusetts suffered a heavy loss in this fight. The Sixth 
Corps, after having made a day's march toward Front 
Royal, were ordered back to Cedar Creek, and on arri- 
ving went into camp in the rear of the Eighth and Nine- 
teenth Corps. 1 

Tuesday, October 18th. General Sheridan 2 arrived 
at our headquarters late in the afternoon and spent the 
night. 3 I was present and heard him talk a while. 

Wednesday, October 19th. I was awakened long 
before dawn by the sound of distant cannonading, and 
after listening for a long time concluded it was serious, 
and arose and got something to eat and went to head- 



on Round Top, a hill that overlooked the battlefield just to the south. 
The battle was a peculiar one. It was fought with sabres and was stub- 
bornly contested. General Sheridan's account of what he saw, in a 
despatch to General Grant, is vivid. "It was a square cavalry fight, 
in which the enemy was routed beyond my power to describe. He lost 
everything carried on wheels except one piece of artillery, and when last 
seen it was passing over Rude's Hill near New Market, on the keen run, 
twenty-six miles from the battlefield, to which point the pursuit was 
kept up" (O. R., xliii., pt. 2, p. 339-)— C. S. 

1 See Sheridan's Memoirs, vol. ii., p. 61. 

3 He has been on a short visit to Washington. 

J See Sheridan's Memoirs, vol. ii., p. 67. 



At Winchester 297 

quarters. Found General Sheridan just starting with 
his staff and escort for the front. 

Colonel Edwards appointed me officer of the day. 
The stragglers of the Nineteenth Army Corps were 
coming in in large numbers, and I was directed to halt 
all soldiers on our picket line and form them into com- 
panies and battalions. Our brigade was assembled on 
the south side of the city, and formed in line to be a 
nucleus of a line of battle in case the army retreated to 
Winchester, and the picket line was strengthened by 
large additional details. We stopped a large number of 
stragglers, and by noon they had ceased. Some teams 
were parked near the city, but not very many. At 
evening we received the news that the rout had been 
turned into a signal victory, and that Sheridan had 
recaptured all the prisoners and guns taken by Early 
in the morning, and added to them twenty-four 
guns and 1200 Rebels. Custer and the cavalry had 
made the most of the captures. Great enthusiasm 
prevailed in our camp upon the receipt of this intelli- 
gence. l 

Saturday, October 22d. A despatch of this date, from 
the headquarters of the Sixth Corps, reads: 

1 The story of the battle of Cedar Creek to which reference is here 
made, and Sheridan's account of his famous ride from Winchester, 
"twenty miles away," are given in his Memoirs, vol. ii., commencing 
at page 66, and continuing through the chapter. General Early, having 
gathered all the strength he could through the return to his army of con- 
valescents and other absentees, had moved quietly from Fisher's Hill 
in the night of the 18th and early on the morning of the 19th, to surprise 
Sheridan's army on the north bank of Cedar Creek before Sheridan 
could get back from Washington. The surprise was so complete a suc- 
cess that the Union army was thrown into confusion, and driven from 
its camps in disorder back in the direction of Winchester. Sheridan's 
arrival among the retreating soldiers was made the signal for a return 
to the front, which culminated in the victory mentioned in the diary. 



298 Recollections of the Civil War 

Lieut. -Col. C. Kingsbury, Jr., 

Asst. Adjt.-Gen., Headquarters Middle Military 
Division. 
Colonel : 

I have the honor to request that if not incompatible 
with the interests of the service, the Third Brigade, 
First Division, Col. O. Edwards commanding, now at Win- 
chester, be returned to duty with the corps. The division 
to which the brigade belongs numbers without it only 1550 
enlisted men for duty with only one field officer. The 
brigade is an excellent one, and might, it is suggested, be 
replaced by troops who having seen less service would not 
be so valuable in the field, while they could perform the 
duty at Winchester as well. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
H. G. Wright, 
Major-General, Commanding. 1 

Winchester, Oct. 23, 1864. 

My dear Parents : 

Yesterday, I was on as officer of the day, and kept 
quite busy attending to all the business of the city. Last 
night they brought in nearly a thousand of our wounded 
in army wagons. It was terribly cold, and the poor fel- 
lows, besides all the tortures of their wounds, had to suffer 
the awful effects of the cold. The Sanitary and Christian 
Commissions turned out and supplied them with hot soup, 
coffee, tea, and hot whiskey punch, and what blankets they 
could find. Still they had to lie in the wagons over night 
and were carried on to-day. Luckily the weather modera- 
ted towards morning or many of them would have frozen 
to death. I am afraid as it was many of them got their 
death chill. 

The order has just been issued by General Sheridan for 

'O. R., xliii., pt. 2, p. 445. 






At Winchester 299 

the arrest of all male citizens in the Valley, between the ages 
of eighteen and forty -five, who are capable of bearing 
arms. l It will cause such a commotion in this town as has 
not been seen since the war commenced. The papers came 
this morning with very incomplete accounts of Sheridan's 
latest great victory. 2 

The Rebs curse the Sixth Corps, and the Unionists are 
extravagant in their eulogies of it. We enjoy both the 
curses and the eulogies. One is as great praise as the other. 
General Sheridan, I understand, credits the victory and the 
decisive charge to the Second Division of our corps. 3 We 
are proud of the fact. We used to belong to the Second. 
The Third Division, as usual, broke. They originally 
belonged to the old Third Corps; we don't think much of 
them. The Eighth and Nineteenth Corps have been 
rather inclined to think that they could whip anything that 
ever saw light, but they don't say much now. There is 
very little doubt that the First and Second Divisions 
behaved splendidly during the whole fight. 

I have been to church this morning — the old-school Pres- 
byterian church. They opened for the first time to-day. 
The minister is quite an able man, I should think, and a 
very good man. His sermon this morning was on glorify- 
ing the Lord, and was one of condolence to the people at this 
particular time. He spoke of Northern fanatics and 
Southern demagogues subverting the Constitution. Their 
people had suffered enormously, and still he glorified the 
Lord for it all. He quoted Scriptures very freely and was 
exceedingly earnest in his prayers for peace, but said noth- 
ing about the restoration of the Union. Still I liked him for 
his plain speaking, and his out-and-out frankness bore a 
yery strong contrast to the milk-and-water secessionism of 
the Episcopalian minister. Yet he made me a little mad 

1 The diary says they were ordered to be sent to Fort McHenry. 

2 Cedar Creek. 

3 This statement in a letter written four days after the battle is con- 
firmed by Sheridan's maturer view in his Memoirs, vol. ii., at page 82. 



300 Recollections of the Civil War 

once or twice, and I felt like appointing the service this 
afternoon and preaching myself. . . . 

Two or three weeks ago when we had some hundreds of 
prisoners in the court-house I was very much interested to 
see them one Sunday night separate off in squads and hold 
religious services. They sang and prayed with all the 
fervor of the Southern heart. I thought then that they 
were more devout than we were, for all seemed to unite in 
presence, if not in taking part. 

Your affectionate son, Mase. 



In a letter to a brother, dated October 25, 1864, from 
Winchester, he wrote: 

We have decided to-day to go out to board. My present 
chum (Capt. Robinson) and I thought we would try to live 
in a civilized way for a little while. So we have engaged 
a boarding place and to-day move in. If possible we shall 
try to get a few nights' rest in a civilized bed. We have been 
sleeping on boards and under very few blankets ever since 
we have been here, and find the weather mighty cold. I 
have been roaming around very busily this evening. Sev- 
eral of the officers have been busily engaged arresting dis- 
loyal citizens. One of my friends on the corps staff was 
wounded in the last fight and is lying here at Colonel 
Edwards's headquarters. One or two of his ribs are broken, 
and there is great danger of his not recovering. I have been 
up to see him and find him quite feeble. He can read, 
however, and so I have just sent him up my last Harper. 
As I write there is quite a cannonading going on in our rear 
towards Martinsburg. There is quite a train expected in 
to-day, and I am afraid the guerillas have attacked it. I 
hope it will get through safe and bring my coat. I should 
not, however, care to have my coat on board if the train is 
destroyed by guerillas. . 

I have got to go on as officer of the day to-morrow and a 
pleasant job I shall have of it, attending to the widows and 



At Winchester 301 

orphans, calling for their husbands and fathers that we have 
shut up. They will be sent off soon, however, so that it 
won't last long. 

October 26th, he wrote to his mother : 

We have been having quite a scare over a rumor that 
announced an immediate march to the front for us. It 
spread like wildfire yesterday afternoon. Colonel Montague 
got hold of it and sent up to brigade headquarters and found 
that it all originated with the fact that General Wheaton, 
who now commands our division, had made an application 
to General Sheridan for our return. We would thank Gen- 
eral Wheaton to keep his applications at home, if that is the 
tenor of them. 

I have just got nicely situated in a very pleasant board- 
ing place here in town. Mrs. O'Bannon is a lady whose 
acquaintance I made while paroling Rebs. She is a widow, 
and her husband was an officer in the United States employ. 
She has lived many years in the best society of Washington, 
and is an exceedingly cultivated lady. She has two nieces 
living with her. Captain Hopkins, Captain Robinson, and 
myself are together there. 1 

1 Mrs. O'Bannon lived in Kent Street. It was at her house that the 
notorious Major Harry Gilmor had found shelter after he was wounded 
at Bunker Hill on the 3d of September, and where he remained until 
noon of the memorable 19th of September. His hand in burning Cham- 
bersburg, in wrecking trains and robbing the passengers, made him very- 
anxious not to fall into the hands of General Sheridan, whose guns were 
now thundering in his ears. "The three weeks of physical suffering," 
he wrote afterwards, "I spent in that house were among the happiest 
in my life" {Four Years in the Saddle, p. 271). It is not often that a 
lady has the grace to extend her courtesies in such opposite directions. 
The other ladies referred to were Miss Fanny Dickens and Miss Kate 
Reilly. 

At the house of Mrs. O'Bannon, Captain Tyler found an exceedingly 
pleasant home during his stay at Winchester, and although he saw them 
but once afterwards, friendly relations with the family were kept up for 
many years. — C. S. 



302 Recollections of the Civil War 

Winchester, Oct. 27 [1864]. 

My dear Brother: 

I have been very busy for twenty four hours as 
officer of the day. Yesterday and day before we arrested 
nearly one hundred citizens of disloyal tendencies, and 
at present have them confined in the building opposite 
to our quarters. 

Of course it has kicked up a terrible muss, and I, as officer 
of the day, was beset with the entreaties of men and women 
of the place wishing to see their husbands and fathers. 
Some old men sixty or seventy years of age and much broken 
down with the infirmities of old age are there. It is my pri- 
vate opinion that the conscription has been too relentless 
and I am afraid it will overshoot the mark. Still, as I am 
not consulted, I have no right to express an opinion. 
After yesterday's experiences, I am in that uneasy, nervous 
state which is natural after a day of excitement. There- 
fore you must not expect a very heavy letter this morning. 
I am not in the condition to write one. 

Yesterday afternoon they had a flag presentation in the 
Forty-ninth Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers. They 
are the best regiment from Pennsylvania I have ever seen 
and re-enlisted almost to a man. The colors were sent on 
yesterday from the State Department. In the absence of 
the governor, Colonel Edwards presented them to the 
regiment with a neat little speech. 

In a day or two now we shall be hard at work making out 
papers for this month. Time really passes so rapidly here 
that I hardly appreciate that we have been here nearly six 
weeks. Yet such is the fact. Yesterday afternoon the 
rumor reached us that we were to be relieved and that the 
Maryland Brigade was to relieve us. I tell you if there 
was n't a stir among the boys! The rumor spread in less 
than ten minutes all over the regiment. It turned out that 
General Wheaton had made application for us to be sent 






At Winchester 303 

back to the division. I hope that General Sheridan will 
decide differently. 

Your brother, 

Mase. 



On October 2Qth, he wrote to his mother: 
The regiment is every man of it on duty . Fifty men have 
gone off to hunt for Mosby. Then General Sheridan is 
here taking a survey of the ground and to meet some engi- 
neers from Washington. A guard of seventy-five men from 
our regiment has been detailed to take care of him. This, 
with our regular duty, takes every man we have. General 
Sheridan visited all the hospitals here in the city yesterday, 
and spoke a cheering word to all the wounded. If they 
don't remember him it will be because they are very forget- 
ful. We think there is nothing like General Sheridan. It 
has been decided, I understand, to retain our regiment here 
in the city as long as Colonel Edwards stays. How long 
that will be remains to be seen. 

I have a fine account of General Russell in the Boston 
Advertiser, in which it speaks of our regiment doing very 
well in the battle of Winchester on the 19th of September. 
Our regiment was a great favorite of General Russell, and 
he always relied on us for his tough jobs. Next to General 
Sedgwick, he was the greatest loss our corps has sustained. 

Hdqrs. Middle Military Division, 
October 27, 1864. 
Special Orders No. 67. 

13. Colonel Heine, commanding Provisional Division, will 
proceed to Winchester to-morrow morning at 6 o'clock, with 
his division, and report to Colonel Edwards, commanding 
that post, for duty. On Colonel Heine, arriving at Win- 
chester, Colonel Edwards will place en route for this point 
his own brigade, and order it to report to commanding 



304 Recollections of the Civil War 

officer Sixth Corps. 1 By command of Major-General 

Sheridan. 

C. Kingsbury, Jr., 
Assistant Adjutant-General. 2 

Provost Marshal's Office, 
Winchester, Va., Nov. 5, 1864. 
My dear Parents : 

I have been so busy the past week that I have had no 
time to write letters. Colonel Montague has gone north, 

1 Organization of troops in the Middle Military Division, commanded 
by Maj.-Gen. Philip H. Sheridan, October 31, 1864: 

Sixth Corps, Maj.-Gen. Horatio Wright. 
First Div., Brig.-Gen. Frank Wheaton. 
Third Brig., Col. Thomas S. Allen. 

37th Mass. (detached at Winchester), Capt. Hugh Donnelly. 
O. R., xliii., pt. 2, p. 511. 

2 Id., p. 475. Colonel Tyler, at this point in his card diary, 
has copied the report of Colonel Edwards, commanding the Third 
Brigade, First Division, Sixth Corps, under date October 27, 1864: 

"On the 9th day of August, my brigade, with the rest of the corps, 
commenced the movement up the Valley. On the 12th, the brigade 
was detached from the rest of the division and ordered to garrison Win- 
chester. Relieved by General Kenly's troops on the 13th; marched as 
guard to the trains as far as Middletown, rejoining the division at Cedar 
Creek, where remained until night of the 16th, when the command 
marched, reaching the Opequon the following afternoon; left on the 
morning of the 18th and marched to the vicinity of Charlestown. On 
the 2 1st the enemy attacked our picket line, the Thirty-seventh Massa- 
chusetts and Second Rhode Island Volunteers on the line. That night 
moved back as far as Halltown. On the afternoon of the 22d, ordered 
to support of the army of West Virginia; remained in this position until 
the 28th, when the command moved as far as Charlestown, taking up 
its old position. On the 3d of September moved from camp near 
Charlestown, Va., and marched as far as Clifton, where the position 
was intrenched and the command remained in it until the morning of 
the 19th, when, with the rest of the corps, it moved out to the Opequon, 
crossed that stream shortly after daylight, and participated in the 
engagement of that day, losing sixteen commissioned officers and 228 en- 
listed men. On the morning of the 20th the command was assigned to 
duty at Winchester, where it has remained as a garrison to the post up 
to the present time" (O. R., xliii., pt. 1, p. 186.) — C. S. 



At Winchester 305 

and Colonel Edwards put me into the office of the provost 
marshal until his return. We have heard this morning 
that Colonel Montague has met with an accident and 
would not return for some time at least. This, I suppose, 
will detain us here for some time to come. I had hoped 
to be home by Thanksgiving, but I am afraid it will be 
later than that now before I get home. Still, as long as I 
am busy and well occupied, I don't care. 

Yesterday we had quite an excitement here; General 
Sheridan came down from headquarters and stopped with 
Colonel Edwards over dinner. He was on his way to 
inspect the railroad between here and Harper's Ferry. 
They ate some cheese while at Colonel Edwards's, and after 
they had got fairly out in the country, the general and sev- 
eral of his staff were taken deadly sick. Captain Moore, 
indeed, for a while was thought to be dying, but he finally 
rallied, and is to-day very comfortable. I understand 
Colonel Edwards and his staff had eaten of the cheese the 
night before, and been affected a good deal in the same 
way, but not so severely. You can imagine that an affair 
of this kind would produce some excitement, because we 
did not know but that there might be foul play, and Gen- 
eral Sheridan's life endangered. As it was, they had to 
send out an ambulance and bring the general and one or 
two of his staff in. 

Colonel Edwards thinks there is a prospect that we may 
stay here during the winter. They are making prepara- 
tions apparently to rebuild the railroad to Harper's Ferry, 
and this would look very much as if they intended to hold 
this place during the winter, and in that case they may keep 
us here. Still we don't build any hopes on the prospect. 
We are happy in the idea that the campaign is so near the 
end. 

I see a rumor in the paper of to-day that General Rose- 
crans has been ordered to the command of the Army of the 
Potomac. I should be perfectly satisfied if this were the 
case. For although I like General Meade and believe in his 



306 Recollections of the Civil War 

ability, I don't think he supports Grant as he ought to. I 
hardly know what to think of the campaign, whether it is 
finished or not, for this reason : they have commenced giving 
leaves of absence and furloughs in this department, and it 
hardly seems as if they would do that if they expected more 
fighting immediately, and since Grant's last move proved 
nothing, I don't know but that they intend to wait for the 
spring campaign before they attempt to do much. The 
Army of the Potomac must suffer terribly from want of 
proper organization. 

Sunday morning. . . . Our regiment, the most of it, went 
out last night in search of Mosby. A report was received 
here that he was lying in wait for General Sheridan some 
eight miles from here; so Colonel Edwards ordered out the 
regiment in pursuit. But for infantry to catch Mosby 
mounted is not easy. They were gone all night and came 
back this morning without any booty, having had nothing 
but their tramp. It was exceedingly cold last night and 
those out had to suffer. The regiment is worked very hard 
here. Colonel Edwards seems to think that he can rely on 
nothing else but the Thirty-seventh, so they have to do all 
his jobs, and since they have been here, the men have been 
on duty two nights out of three a good deal of the time. 
This is too much for flesh and blood to endure. 

I have been at church this morning and heard our chap- 
lain preach. He has taken the Episcopal church, and is 
going to occupy it hereafter for his service. He had a very 
respectable audience of soldiers and one or two ladies. His 
sermon was upon "Faith that worketh," a very good prac- 
tical discourse upon the Christian faith, and what it should 
bring out in our lives. 

Ever your son, 

Mase. 

Winchester, Nov. 9, 1864. 

My dear Father: 

I guess you will think it about time that you heard 



At Winchester 307 

from me again. The fact is, that I hardly have ten minutes 
in the day that I can call my own, and if I sit down for 
that length of time, something is sure to come to disturb 
my repose. This is not the kind of a life to write letters 
you know. I, however, enjoy my occupation much. It 
gives me something to think about and to do, and the 
responsibility is just enough to be agreeable. The work is 
not hard, it is simply incessant, calling for this or that by 
somebody all day long. Yesterday was election day with 
you at the North. I should like to have been with you and 
seen the fun. Here the day passed unnoticed, except that 
we were all somewhat weary. 

Monday night some one brought word that Fitzhugh Lee 
with some four thousand cavalry was over to the west of 
Winchester, either threatening a raid upon the Baltimore 
and Ohio Railroad, or else an attack upon Winchester. 
Colonel Edwards acted with his usual determination, and 
before nine o'clock had us all up in line of battle, and there 
the regiment stayed waiting in a drizzling rain until morn- 
ing. I went out with the regiment, but when I saw there 
was not much chance of a fight, I concluded to return and 
get a little rest by virtue of my provost-marshal's berth, 
and so about 12 I returned to my room, and slept the rest 
of the night. The regiment did not come in until yesterday 
at noon. 

I see considerable of Colonel Edwards these days, and he 
often wishes to be remembered to you. The colonel is 
expecting his wife on here shortly. I shall be mighty glad 
to see her genial face here. Colonel Edwards occupied a 
beautiful house for his headquarters, and has two large 
rooms for his own accommodation, except when General 
Sheridan is here, when he occupies one of them. Rumor 
says to-day that the army of General Sheridan has fallen 
back to Kernstown, and is there intending to intrench and 
go into rather more permanent quarters. Some reports say 
that they have been expecting every day to have a fight 
up at the front. They are said to have been reinforced 



308 Recollections of the Civil War 

strongly, and Longstreet is said to be in command. This 
rumor is old, and not to be relied upon. 1 

Ever your son, 
Mason. 

Winchester, Nov. 13, 1864. 

My dear Mother : 

Sunday has come around again with its seasonable rest 
and quiet. To be sure there is now and then an order, but 
it is not an incessant drive as during the rest of the week. 

This morning an underground mail communication with 
the Rebs has been discovered, and I have just received 
orders to ferret it out. Yesterday there was quite sharp 
skirmishing with the Reb cavalry all day. This morning 
we hear that we took three guns and something like two 
hundred prisoners. The prisoners report that Early crossed 
Cedar Creek with his whole force and retired again last 
night. It was lucky for him that General Sheridan did 
not know it, he would have pounced upon him again. 

As I get tired of writing so much the earlier part of the 
day, I find that I need recreation much in the afternoon, 
and, as at present I am allowed a horse, I usually try the 
efficacy of a ride. There are a great many pleasant views 
around Winchester, and I am fast making myself acquainted 
with them. There is fine hunting (quail and partridges) by 
going just outside the picket line, and several of our officers 

1 About the 9th of November, General Sheridan took up his head- 
quarters at Kernstown, and began the withdrawal of his forces to that 
point, and finally decided that a defensive line should be held to enable 
him to send troops to Petersburg. But hardly had he withdrawn from 
the upper valley, when Early, with what he could collect of his shat- 
tered army, began to advance and make a show of assuming the offen- 
sive. Sheridan launched at him a force of cavalry under Merritt, 
Custer, and Powell, which resulted in the usual misfortune to the Rebel 
cavalry, and Sheridan reported to General Grant: "There has been none 
of the enemy's forces within reach in my front for a distance of forty 
miles since the last advance of Early and his hasty retreat." (O. R., 
xliii., pt. 2, p. 649.) — C. S. 



At Winchester 309 

are fond of indulging their sportsman tastes in this pleasant 
vale. I have not been out myself as yet, but have intended 
to go almost any day. 

The army has moved back to within five miles of Win- 
chester and they are kept on the qui vive pretty much all 
the time because their position, which can be flanked on 
either side, is rather a precarious one. . . . 

This morning I attended church at the old-school Presby- 
terian church and heard their pastor, Mr. Graham, preach. 
The sermon was on the depth of Christ's love — a plain, 
simple discourse. The congregation was mostly composed 
of women, and the most of them, mourning for their friends, 
were dressed in black. The marks of war are indelibly 
written in the appearance of every family in this town. 

Col. Edwards is expecting his wife by every train, and 
as there is a train coming up to-night, we shall probably 
have a mail. We are happy over the election news. 
Massachusetts has done herself credit by her enormous 
majority. 

With much love, 

Ever your son, 

Mason. 

Winchester, Nov. 16, 1864. 

My dear Mother: 

.... To-day is a beautiful day, and the sun is as 
bright and warm as an October sun usually is. The most 
of the officers have taken horses and gone out to ride 
and to enjoy themselves in such glorious air, but I don't 
feel very much like riding this p.m., and consequently 
am communing with you. A foraging party went out 
from here this morning, escorted by Seventeenth Pennsyl- 
vania Cavalry, and four of them have just been brought in 
wounded. The rest were all killed or captured by Mosby. 
The affair has produced quite an excitement here in the 
street, and knots of men are talking it over on the corners 



310 Recollections of the Civil War 

now. « Colonel Edwards went out hunting this morning 
but came rushing back as soon as he heard the firing. He, 
however, succeeded in getting some four quails and two 
rabbits. Mrs. Edwards does not come yet. They are 
expecting her to-day, I understand. General Sheridan was 
down from the front yesterday afternoon, and stayed some 
five hours with Colonel Edwards. 

I am invited to sup out to-night with one of the promi- 

1 These occurrences appear to have been frequent. 

"Headquarters U. S. Forces, 
"Winchester, Va., November 7, 1864. 
"Lieut. -Col. C. Kingsbury, Jr., 

"Assistant Adjutant-General, Middle Military Division. 
"Colonel: 

"I have the honor to state that G. H. Soule, Company G, Fifth 
Michigan Cavalry, this day entered our lines from the direction of 
Berryville, and reported as follows: He was taken prisoner by soldiers 
of Mosby's command on the macadamized road near Newtown, and by 
them taken to a camp on the Winchester and Berryville turnpike. 
There he was placed with a squad of Federal prisoners numbering about 
twenty-two, and with them compelled to draw lots for the purpose of 
determining upon a certain number who should be hung. Of the twenty- 
three prisoners, seven were to be executed in retaliation for a like 
number of Mosby's command who were hung by General Custer. Of 
the seven upon whom the lot fell, three were hung, two shot, and two 
escaped. The wounded men — one of them escaped alive by feigning 
death — are being cared for by Union families in the vicinity of the camp. 
The men who escaped have reported at this post. The accompanying 
note was found by a citizen who cut down and buried the bodies, pinned 
to the clothing of one of the men who were hanged. Captain Brewster, 
commissary of subsistence of General Custer's command, was among 
the parties captured. The name of one of the men hanged was ascer- 
tained to be George L. Prouty. He was a member of Company L, 
Fifth Michigan Cavalry. 

"Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
"O. Edwards, 
"Colonel, Commanding Post. 
"(Inclosure) 
"These men have been hung in retaliation for an equal number of Colo- 
nel Mosby's men hung by order of General Custer, at Front Royal. 
Measure for measure." (O. R., vol., xliii., pt. 2, p. 566.) See another 
like instance, 0. R., vol., xliii., pt. 1, p. 186. 



At Winchester 311 

nent Union men here. He has been accustomed to flee 
whenever the Rebs occupied the town, and his descriptions 
of his attempts and successes in running the Reb pickets 
are interesting. Your fears of my being poisoned were 
most amusing to me. The people with whom we are board- 
ing are among the most aristocratic and cultured people of 
the town. They are cousins of the Blairs of Cabinet fame, 
and, before the war, were very well off in this world's goods. 
They had according to their say some forty or fifty servants 
(negroes) . It has surprised me to see how easily they adap- 
ted themselves to their new position. They never allow 
themselves to be idle two consecutive minutes, but their 
fingers are flying from early morning to late night. They 
cook, wait on the table and attend to our comfort, with all 
the grace of old housekeepers. Almost the only recreation 
I have seen them take is in the evening, sometimes, when 
we ask them to sing for us, and they sit down at the piano 
and delight us with the sweetest music. 

I shall be mighty busy to-morrow examining into some 
pilfering that has been carried on rather extensively here 
in town of late. The provost marshal has to be court, judge, 
and jury all at once. Good-night for to-night. 

Youraffec. son, 

Mase. 

Saturday, November 19th. Captain Lincoln left on 
fifteen days' leave, to be present at M. F. Dickinson's 
wedding. I could not get away at this time. 

November 20th, he wrote to his father from Winchester: 
We are expecting to have the railroad finished through to 
this place within a few days now. They have sent so large 
a force down from here to guard it that it leaves a very 
small force within the town. Still, the army is so near that 
nothing very disastrous could happen. It is now said that 
the principal depot is not to be at Winchester, but at Sum- 
mit Point, some ten miles from here. In that event, Win- 



312 Recollections of the Civil War 

Chester will be held as a kind of an outpost, much as Cul- 
peper was for the army last year. Then the question 
arises whether we shall stay here. I think we shall as long 
as Colonel Edwards stays, at least, and Colonel Edwards 
seems to be high in favor with General Sheridan, and if his 
wife comes on, General Sheridan will hardly be so ungallant 
as to send the Colonel off before he has had a nice visit with 
her. Rumor has had it for several days that our corps was 
to be ordered off on some special service, where no one 
knew. Our corps is very small, and hardly amounts to 
enough to do anything by itself. It can muster only about 
8000 men now, and they probably have had 40,000 all 
told during this summer — four fifths gone. 

We are hoping that General Sherman is going to do some- 
thing towards helping the downfall of Richmond. It does 
seem as if it was absolutely necessary that we should have 
that place before the army goes into winter quarters. 
Where Sherman will turn up I have not the slightest idea. 
Still, I should not wonder if Mobile attracted his attention. 
It is quite important that they should have the control of 
that river. 

Wednesday, November 23d. In a letter to his brother 
Henry, he says: 

I have been out and made a call upon one of the ladies 
of Winchester, who is a native of Frederick City, Maryland, 
and is well acquainted with the friends of Mr. Schroeder 
there, the Goldboroughs, and also Mrs. Albert of Baltimore. 
So I had a pleasant chat with her about them. This lady, 
although she pretends to be Southern in her feeling and 
sympathies, still has so many ties with the North that she is 
very friendly to our officers. There are some people here 
who boast that they have never spoken to a Yankee soldier 
or officer since the war commenced, unless they were obliged 
to, and they won't acknowledge that there are any gentle- 
men in the Yankee army. They boast that they hope to 



At Winchester 313 

say at the end of the war that they have uniformly been 
governed by this principle. They won't be introduced to a 
Yankee officer. If one happens to come into a room where 
they are calling or visiting, they will get up and leave. If 
any of their friends are guilty of any communication with 
Yankees, they discard them at once, and pronounce them 
traitors to the Rebel cause. Such is the intolerant spirit 
that prevails among many of the high-toned Southern 
chivalry. 

Thursday, November 24th. Thanksgiving Day ! Our 
dinner was a success. Everything was nicely cooked. 
The ladies were very agreeable and did all in their 
power to make our feast conform to the requirements 
of a New England Thanksgiving dinner. (M. F. D., 
Jr., was married to-day, and R. P. L. was best man.) 

Winchester, Va., 
Dec. 1, [1864.] 
My dear brother Hen : 

Our corps is under marching orders this morning, 
and is said to be on its way to Petersburg. In fact, 
the First Division has just passed through the city. The 
Second Division, I understand, will go to-morrow, and the 
Third Division will go by land with the trains to Alexandria. 
Of course they are somewhat disgusted at going back to 
Petersburg. They would rather go almost anywhere else. 
Their associations with Petersburg are not of the pleasant- 
est. I suppose our regiment will be relieved from this post 
in a day or two and go with them. We are hardly willing 
to leave the old Sixth Corps even for the privilege of staying 
here all winter. We are bound to them by too many ties. 

We are all hoping (almost against hope, however) that 
the corps is going somewhere else than Petersburg, perhaps 
to Wilmington, Savannah, or Charlestown. The first was 
said to have been our destination, when we started before, 
and were ordered back because of Early's attack. Some of 



314 Recollections of the Civil War 

the boys are rather disposed to hope that Early's inter- 
ference may prove successful again in bringing us back. In 
fact, they would like to have him attack every time they 
attempt to move us from the Valley. Still I think General 
Sheridan would have pride enough to show them that he 
could whip them, Sixth Corps or no Sixth Corps. It is now 
reported that Colonel Edwards is to remain in command 
of the post, and that we are to go with the corps. That is 
rather compromising affairs. Colonel Edwards has been 
quite unwell for a week now, but is said to be improving 
under the devoted care of his wife. Mrs. Edwards is as 
pleasant as ever. She is, however, slightly worried by the 
Colonel's illness. . . . 

Your affec. brother, 

Mase. 

Friday, December 2d. R. P. Lincoln mustered as 
Major. 

Saturday, December 3d. The Third Division, Sixth 
Corps, passed through Winchester on its way to rejoin 
the Army of the Potomac to-day. 

Wednesday, December 7th. I got leave of absence 
for twenty days and went home to Amherst. 



CHAPTER XIX 
PETERSBURG 

DECEMBER J, 1864, TO JULY 2, 1865 

[Introduction. — During his leave of absence which com- 
menced on December 7th and lasted twenty days, Cap- 
tain Tyler kept in touch with his regiment and with the 
corps, and made a few notes from which we are enabled to 
follow their movements. By order of General Sheridan, 
December 9th, Colonel Edwards was assigned to the com- 
mand of the Provisional District in addition to his duties 
as post commander at Winchester. z 

On Monday, the 12th, the Thirty-seventh Regiment 
received orders to join the corps at Petersburg. They left 
Winchester the next day, 2 Tuesday, the 13th, marched to 
Stephenson's Depot about six miles, took freight cars for 
Harper's Ferry, where they changed to the Baltimore & 
Ohio Railroad, and arrived in Washington early Wednesday 
morning, the 14th. 

Captain Donnelly, who was in command, reported to 
General Halleck at once, and during the afternoon they 
embarked on the transport, Lizzie Baker, for City Point, 
where they arrived on the afternoon of Thursday, and were 
transported over the United States military railroad to 
Parke's Station. There they disembarked and "spent the 
night shivering in the cold and with very few facilities for 
keeping warm or comfortable." On Friday, the 16th, after 
a short march, they rejoined their brigade. 

1 O. R., xliii., pt. 2, p. 765. 3 See id., p. 779. 

3i5 



316 Recollections of the Civil War 

The division had already been there for some days. 
General Grant had informed General Meade that the Sixth 
Corps was about to leave the Valley, and had suggested 
' ' that it relieve the Fifth Corps in the lines. ' ' Accordingly, 
on December 4th, General Meade had ordered General 
Wheaton, commanding the First Division, Sixth Corps, to 
report at the army headquarters, near Parke's Station, 
and near the Aiken house. x General Wheaton had replied 
the same day, "I have the honor to report the arrival of 
my division — fifty-six hours from Winchester, . . . Your 
order to relieve Crawford's division, Fifth Corps, received. 
Will report in person, taking 8 a.m. train to-morrow. 2 

The line occupied by the Sixth Corps extended from 
Battery 24 on the right to Fort Wadsworth on the left, a 
distance of about two miles, but they had also to defend a 
strong line of fortifications in their rear. Fort Wadsworth 
was situated just west of the Weldon Railroad, and covered 
the Halifax road near its junction with the Vaughan road. 

The position of the Third Brigade, First Division, was 
just to the right of the fort, almost directly south of Peters- 
burg, which was four or five miles distant. They were in a 
swamp, and communication was mostly by corduroy paths 
and roads. The camp of the Thirty-seventh was located 
on the field which was the scene of the battle of the Fifth 
Corps for the possession of the Weldon Railroad, on the 
1 8th of August last. 3 

The record of his own experience at home is confined to 
the relations of family and friends. On December 14th, he 
attended the Amherst Alumni dinner at Boston, was called 
upon to speak and responded. He spent Christmas at New 
Milford, Connecticut. On December 27th, his leave of 
absence was extended twenty days, on a certificate from Dr. 
Smith of Amherst. We may now follow the diary. — C. S.J 

1 O. R., xlii., pt. 3, p. 798. The Aiken house was about a mile east of 
Fort Wadsworth, directly south of the city of Petersburg. See War 
Map 77 (2). 

2 O. R., xlii., pt. 3, p. 798. 3 See also War Maps 67 (9), 79 (1). 



Petersburg 317 

THURSDAY, January 12, 1865. I came from Am- 
herst to Binghamton, New York, where I was 
most heartily and enthusiastically entertained. 

Friday, January 13th. I came from Binghamton last 
night to New York, went to Taylor's International 
Hotel for breakfast, and after a day of visiting with 
friends, took the night train for Washington. 

Saturday, January 14th. Arrived in Washington this 
morning. In letter of the 15th, I write: 

At Washington, they attempted to send me to Camp 
Distribution to take charge of a body of men made up of 
stragglers, conscripts, convalescents, etc. As this is the 
most disagreeable and irksome duty that any officer can 
be assigned to, and it would necessarily delay me some days 
in a filthy camp, I demurred, and finally got off through the 
kindly intervention of General Abner Doubleday in my 
behalf. I was detained in Washington until 3 p.m. . . . 
As I had this time in Washington, I called on Mr. William 
Swinton, the distinguished war correspondent of the New 
York Times. He was the first French teacher I ever had 
and for a long time lived in my father's family. He treated 
me very cordially. 

I afterwards called on Mr. Washburn, the representative 
in Congress from the district in which Amherst is situated, 
and he proposed to take me to the White House to shake 
hands with President and Mrs. Lincoln. It was a new 
experience to me, and I was glad to avail myself of the 
opportunity to go to the White House and attend a recep- 
tion. Mr. Lincoln shook my hand rather mechanically but 
treated me graciously, either on account of Mr. W. or 
because I was a soldier. ... I found friends on the boat, 
and we had a merry sail to City Point. 

Sunday, January 15th. We sailed through Chesa- 
peake Bay by Fortress Monroe, and up the James River, 
a very enjoyable trip. The same letter continues : 



318 Recollections of the Civil War 

Five o'clock found me at home once more with my regi- 
ment, and the first greeting I received was, "How do you 
do, Major!" I was recommended for the brevet of major 
for conduct in the battle of Winchester, on September 19th 
last. I did not know that the recommendation had been 
made or confirmed until they showed me the newspaper re- 
port announcing it this afternoon. So you see a pleasant 
surprise awaited me. 1 

1 The recommendation for promotion to which he refers was in the 
following language : 

" Headquarters First Division, Sixth Corps, 
"December 17, 1864. 
" Maj. C. A. Whittier, 

"Acting Assistant Adjutant-General, Sixth Corps. 
"Major: In forwarding the accompanying recommendations made by 
the commanders of the First, Second, and Third Brigades of this division 
for brevet promotions in their respective commands, I have the honor 
to call the attention of the major-general commanding to the distin- 
guished services of the brigade commanders, and to recommend the 
following promotions by brevet: 

" Col. Oliver Edwards, Thirty-seventh Massachusetts Volunteers, 
commanding Third Brigade, to be brigadier-general U. S. Volunteers 
by brevet for gallantry and distinguished service in the battle of Spott- 
sylvania Court-House, Va., May 12, 1864, and for meritorious conduct 
in the battle of Winchester, Va., September 19, 1864. . . . 

" One regiment of this division is now on detached service at Winches- 
ter, Va., and no recommendations for that regiment have been forwarded 
by the commander of the brigade to which it belongs, the Thirty-seventh 
Massachusetts Volunteers, and I have the honor to make the following 
recommendations, as the facts referred to are personally known to me : 
Lieut.-Col. George L. Montague, commanding Thirty-seventh Massa- 
chusetts Volunteers, to be colonel by brevet for distinguished gallantry 
in the battle of Spottsylvania Court-House, Va., May 12, 1864, in which 
battle he was severely wounded. Capt. Mason W. Tyler, Thirty- 
seventh Massachusetts Volunteers, to be major by brevet for distin- 
guished gallantry in the battle of Winchester, Va., September 19, 1864, 
in which battle he was wounded. 

" Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
" Frank Wheaton, 
"Brevet Major -General, U. S. Volunteers." 
(O. R., xlii., pt. 3, p. 1028-9.) 




CAPTAIN MASON W. TYLER. 

From a photograph taken in December, 18 



Petersburg 319 

In a letter dated Warren Station, January iq, 1865, he 
wrote to his brother Henry: 

Colonel Edwards has been relieved from the command 
of the brigade, after spending a twenty days' leave with 
his wife. He is now in the West. He has been brevetted 
brigadier-general, but hesitates some, I understand, about 
accepting it. 

I have been quite busy the last day or two building on an 
addition to my house. I have now got quite a grand house, 
a real palace, so to speak. It is fifteen feet long and some 
six and a half broad, five feet high at the sides, and seven 
in the centre. Two of us occupy it. It grieves me very 
much, however, that we cannot have a fireplace, because 
wood is so scarce in this neighborhood that it is impossible 
to get enough to supply a fireplace. Therefore we have to 
satisfy ourselves with little air-tight box stoves, which we 
have procured of the sutler. Captain Robinson and I are 
tenting together as of old. It is very convenient, as his 
company is next to mine. We have a mess of four persons, 
and we manage to live very comfortably. This morning 
we had corned beef hash, and to-morrow morning we expect 
to have fried pudding. Last night we had scalloped oysters. 
Our sutler has not come up yet, so that we have had to run 
hither and yon to buy what we wanted. We expect him 
now, however, in a day or two. 

General Grant says that he expects to be in Richmond 
within six weeks, so they tell us at corps headquarters — 
and they ought to know. I hope it may prove so. We are 
rather expecting that Sherman or Thomas will happen down 
somewhere in this neighborhood. They will undoubtedly 
have something to do in solving the problem. 

Camp Warren Station, 

January 23, 1865. 
My dear Mother : 

I am somewhat fatigued to-night, as I was up all last 
night and on picket duty. But I can't let this mail go 



320 Recollections of the Civil War 

off without dropping you a line. I meant to have written 
you a long letter to-day, but I have had one continual 
stream of interruptions all day long. I was detailed for 
picket yesterday morning, and after thirty-six hours of 
incessant hard rain, I went out, wading in mud all the way 
to get there, and sitting or standing in mud all the time I 
was there. It is the worst line I ever was on. 1 The coun- 
try is pretty much all marsh between us and the Rebs, and 
at this time nearly all overflowed. There is very little 
firing on our part of the lines. In fact, we live on quite 
amicable terms with our neighbors across the way. When- 
ever they intend to fire, they will give us warning by crying 
" Down-Yanks!" and we sometimes engage in quite spirited 
conversations with them. They are very rarely willing to 
exchange papers with us now, partly because they have 
had men take that opportunity to desert, and partly because 
they don't want us to have their papers. Desertions from 
their lines are quite frequent, and are now at the rate of one 
or two a day on our brigade front. They however are 
watched very closely, and have to run great risks to get 
away, so that they are not as frequent as they otherwise 
would be. We send over on every opportunity General 
Grant's orders in regard to deserters. 2 

1 In another letter of the same date he wrote: "The lines are so close 
and the danger of a surprise so great that during the twenty-four hours 
of detail duty we are not allowed to sleep. Every man has to be on the 
alert." 

2 The subject of desertion will be frequently referred to in the letters 
that follow, and it may be well to explain the condition of affairs. The 
fear of the Rebel soldier that, if he deserted to the Union side, he would 
be compelled to take arms against his old companions, was laid at rest 
by an order of General Grant issued from the War Department at Wash- 
ington, under date August 31, 1864, entitled Circular No. 31, and read- 
ing: "Deserters from the Rebel army are not subject to enrolment or 
draft, nor are they acceptable as substitutes or recruits." 

But there were some questions which had to be settled. Should the 
deserter bring his arms with him, and if he did, were they his own prop- 
erty, or did they belong to the United States? Neither party knew. 
And then there was the all-important question : What was to become of 






Petersburg 321 

There is a Captain Young who is famous as a Rebel scout 
and always goes attended by a large white dog, who is a 
terror to their men. He spends his nights between the lines, 
and has caught many of their attempted deserters. He 

those who deserted? General Wright reports on the 18th of February: 
"The enemy's pickets have several times recently called to our men, 
requesting that some one who was a Mason come out to meet one of 
their number, with a view of their ascertaining, in what they conceive 
to be a reliable way, what disposition is made of men deserting to our 
lines." General Meade authorized the communication to be held with 
the enemy's pickets for the purpose proposed (O. R., xlvi., pt. 2, p. 
587). This whole matter was settled by Special Order No. 3: 

" Headquarters Armies of the United States, 
"In the Field, Va., January 4, 1865. 
" Hereafter deserters from the Confederate Army, who deliver them- 
selves up to the U. S. forces, will, on taking an oath that they will not 
again take up arms during the present rebellion, be furnished subsis- 
tence and free transportation to their homes, if the same are within the 
lines of Federal occupation. If their homes are not within such lines, 
they will be furnished subsistence and free transportation to any point 
in the Northern States. 

" All deserters who take the oath of allegiance will, if they desire it, 
be given employment in the Quartermaster's and other departments of 
the Army, and the same remuneration paid them as is given to civilian 
employees for similar services. 

" Military duty, or service endangering them to capture by the Con- 
federate forces, will not be exacted from such as give themselves up to 
the U. S. military authorities. 

" Deserters who bring arms, horses, mules, or other property into our 
lines with them will, on delivering the same to the Quartermaster's 
department, receive in money the highest price such arms, horses, mules, 
and other property are worth. 

"Railroad employees, telegraph operators, mechanics, and other civil- 
ians employed by the Confederate authorities, who desert from their 
present employment and come into the Federal lines, will be entitled to 
all the benefits and immunities of this order. 

" By command of Lieutenant-General Grant: 
" T. S. Bowers, 
" Assistant Adjutant-General." 
(O. R., id., pp. 828, 829.) 

On March 4th, this order was republished for the information and 
guidance of all concerned, and that very day General Wright reports 
that sixteen deserters had come within the lines of the Sixth Corps, eight 



322 Recollections of the Civil War 

spends his time spying out our lines, and General Meade, it 
is said, has offered a large reward for his capture. Last 
night the dog, who is his sure precursor, was seen by two of 
our pickets. I immediately took five of our men, and set 
out in pursuit. We prowled around between the lines an 
hour or so, and not meeting him or finding any trace, we 
had to give it up as a bad job. 1 I did not expect to catch 
him, but I thought there was no harm in trying. We had 
an Indian with us who went up within a rod of the Rebel 
lines. We are not allowed to sleep one minute while on 
our tour of duty for fear of surprise: The Rebs did surprise 
a portion of our line a week or two since, and took some 
fifteen or twenty men prisoners. Since then we have had to 
be doubly guarded. Your affec. son, 

Mase. 

In a letter written January 25, 1865, he refers to one 
of the most exciting episodes in the siege of Petersburg: 

bringing their arms {id., p. 829). On the 27th of January, General 
Lee called the attention of his government to the alarming number of 
desertions. He states that fifty-six men had deserted from General 
Hill's corps in three days. The cause of this, he thinks, is that the rations 
are too small. On the 1 ith of February, he issued a circular exhorting 
his men to stand by their colors, and deserters to return to their respec- 
tive commands, and by the authority of the President of the Confed- 
eracy, he promises pardon to all who would return within a given time. 
But many of his men were not only hungry, they were discouraged, and 
not a few saw what must be the result of the fight in the not distant 
future, and resorted to all sorts of devices to make their escape. — C. S. 
1 This prowling between the lines was dangerous business. But it 
was characteristic of the man. When he saw a duty, however danger- 
ous, and thought the cause for which he fought would be advanced by 
any exposure of himself, he never hesitated. At the battle of Fort 
Stevens in front of Washington, Colonel Edwards said, " I wish I knew 
what was behind that hill." Lieutenant Tyler replied, "I will find 
out," and taking a revolver in each hand he advanced. Just as he 
reached the top of the hill, a musket appeared and blazed away. He 
dropped on his face, but the ball passed through his hat, and he beat 
a speedy retreat. He always felt that the Reb did not intend to kill 
him and would not have come so near if he had stood on his feet. — C. S. 



Petersburg 323 

We have had quite an excitement here for a day or two 
past over this Rebel gunboat affair. Night before last we 
were aroused from our slumbers by a terrific cannonading. 
Very heavy guns were booming in the distance on our right, 
and little guns seemed to be firing an accompaniment the 
whole length of the line. They kept us awake the most of 
the night. Yesterday we heard that four Rebel gunboats 
had broken from their moorings in the James and been 
swept down the river, and coming below Fort Darling had 
engaged our heavy batteries and forts there ; that three out 
of the four had been disabled by our fire, and one had passed 
down the river comparatively uninjured. As we had no 
ironclads in the river at the time, and this vessel was said 
to be a strong type of a monitor, fears were expressed all 
day yesterday that our shipping at City Point would be 
destroyed before our monitors could come from Fortress 
Monroe, and our ears were strained all day expecting to hear 
heavy guns announcing the opening of the battle. Night 
came and no guns were heard, and we were somewhat 
relieved. This morning, however, about 3 o'clock, the 
renewal of the firing told us that the fight had commenced. 
But we are still in the dark as to the actual facts and as to 
the result. 1 

1 The incident here referred to caused a good deal of excitement and 
great anxiety to the general-in-chief . All but one of the Union ironclads 
had gone with General Terry on the second Fort Fisher expedition. 
General Grant, fearing lest the Confederate gunboats anchored in the 
James just below Richmond might make a dash at his base of supplies 
at City Point, suggested that a naval officer be sent, on the night of the 
23d of January, to plant torpedoes in the river at Trent's Reach. That 
very night the officer sent back word that the fleet was already coming 
down the stream. It consisted of six ships three of which grounded on 
some obstructions in the river. The others came on and were engaged 
by the shore batteries. The Onondaga, a two-turreted monitor that 
ought to have sunk them all, withdrew and steamed down the river. 
General Grant's indignation knew no bounds. He telegraphed to the 
commander that "it would be better to obstruct the channel of the river 
with sunken gunboats than that a Rebel ram should reach City Point" 
(O. R., xlvi., pt. 2, p. 225). But at daybreak the Onondaga moved up 



324 Recollections of the Civil War 

The next letter contains indications that the lieutenant- 
general is putting his army in order: 

Camp Thirty-Seventh Mass. Vols., 
Jan. 29 [1865]. 
My dear Mother: 

We are having a terribly cold Sunday. In fact, for a 
week we have had all that we could do to keep warm, 
night and day, and in spite of fire, two feet from the stove 
our tent has been as cold as a barn. The Potomac is frozen 
over so that we have received mail and provisions only 
every other day, and we have not had a potato for a week. 
In spite of cold weather, however, they had the Sunday 
morning inspection. They are making every effort to bring 
up the condition and the discipline of the troops, and con- 
sequently they make their weekly inspections very rigid. 
We had to stand out in this terrible cold air two mortal 
hours this morning (from 10 to 12), while the inspector went 
through the regiment. To be sure, the most of the time 
they stacked arms and allowed the men to move around. 
But they could not go to their houses and were exposed all 
the time to the merciless wind and cold air. I came pretty 
near freezing, and went in and warmed myself once or twice. 
It was so cold I did not rise this morning until after 8 
o'clock, and had breakfast at 8.30. This, you will under- 
stand, is pretty late for me and my bones did ache before 
I got up. But I could stand it full as well as the cold. . . . 

We have not yet got our chapel started, but the chaplain 
is intending to build one at the earliest opportunity. At 
present we have hardly teams enough to supply us with 
wood to burn. In fact the men bring all their wood nearly 
two miles, and it is becoming scarce at that distance. Our 



and opened fire upon the Confederate flagship, the Virginia, and with 
the shore batteries gave her a hard pounding. With the flood tide the 
enemy succeeded in getting their ships afloat and all retired up the river. 
During the day General Grant got up some heavy guns, and that night 
the Rebel fleet came down again, and a terrific artillery battle was kept 
up for hours, with disastrous results to the enemy. — C. S. 



Petersburg 325 

regimental surgeon returned last night. He has been home 
and got married and brought his wife back with him as far 
as Washington, where she expects to spend the winter and 
hopes to see him once or twice before the spring campaign 
opens. . . . 

We don't see the papers now very often. They are not 
to be depended on these days. The last paper that I saw 
told us of the burning of Smithsonian Institute. I hope it 
is going to moderate. The air seems a little warmer to-night. 

Your affec. son, 

Mase. 

The diary continues: During the month of February, 
we worked a good deal on Fort Fisher, which stands at 
the point where our lines turn to the south. In the 
immediate neighborhood, the Fiftieth New York Engi- 
neers built a beautiful Gothic church, which they called 
Poplar Grove Church, and at a little distance built 
a signal tower one hundred and fifty feet high. x 

Camp near Warren Station, 

Feb. 2, 1865. 
My dear Father : 

. . . Colonel Edwards has lost his brigade, which 
causes something of a stir among us. It happens after 
this wise: You know the colonel has not yet returned, 
and General Wright, who is not friendly to the colonel, has 
taken advantage of his absence to have some one assigned, 
by virtue of his brevet rank, to the command of this brigade. 
So General Hamblin, a younger colonel than we have in 
our brigade, and who was brevetted at the same time as 
Colonel Edwards, is assigned by the President to the 
command at General Wright's solicitation. You know 
these brevet appointments confer no real rank unless 
especially assigned to duty in accordance with them by 
the President. Colonel Edwards, therefore, when he 

1 See Bowen, p. 403. 



326 Recollections of the Civil War 

comes back will find him self superseded by a man whom 
he really outranks, and who is not one half as worthy of 
the place as he is. I don't think the colonel will stand it, 
and he will probably have to get out of the service as he 
would otherwise come back to the command of his regi- 
ment. They all say here that he will resign. I feel very 
sorry for the colonel, but fear that he can't get around it 
now. 

Colonel Montague is here. He returned to the regiment 
last Monday, but is so unwell that he says he shall retire 
as soon as he can. His side is not perfectly healed, and the 
doctors tell him that there is danger of inflammation of the 
lungs if he exposes himself. . . . Did I tell you that General 
Sheridan offered to make Colonel Edwards provost marshal 
of the Middle Military Division if he would stay with him? 
But the colonel declined and chose to return to his brigade. 
He will be disappointed when he comes back to find that 
gone. 

Ever your affec. son, 

Mason. 

Sunday, February 5th. Under marching orders from 
five this morning. Chaplain Morse has succeeded in 
fitting up a chapel, and held his dedication services this 
afternoon. We were packed up all day. At 7 p.m. 
we marched to the extreme left of the line, and one half 
mile beyond, outside the pits, threw up breastworks and 
spent the night. 

During the day he wrote a short letter to his mother: 
We are under marching orders, expecting every minute 
to move. The orders came suddenly about 5 o'clock this 
morning. They woke us out of a sound slumber, and we 
have been on the jump since. We shall probably leave our 
camp standing, as we have received no orders to take our 
tents down. We go provided with six days' rations, so that 






Petersburg 327 

we shall probably be back in a week. Rumor says that 
Grant is at Wilmington and Meade in command here. 1 

Monday, February 6th. We lay still all the morning 
doing nothing. About 3 p.m., we were ordered to move 
to the left, and proceeded along the Squirrel Level 
Road. The wounded of the Fifth Corps and cavalry 
were returning. We crossed Hatcher's Run. The 
Fifth Corps were driven back in confusion, and massed 
and moved into the pits. The Second Brigade of our 
division was engaged. The Fifth Corps, Third Division, 
fled and behaved very badly. It was nearly dark when 
we got into line, and after waiting two hours we were 
withdrawn and went into camp a mile in the rear. It 
was bitterly cold, and we were soaked with rain, which 
froze and stiffened our clothes under the influence of the 
wind. We built fires, but they were of little avail. The 
rain changed into snow, and we finally rolled up in our 
blankets and slept the sleep of exhaustion, wet as we were. 

1 This was but a rumor. On the 26th of January, General Grant 
went down the coast to Cape Fear, on a tour of inspection with General 
Schofield, but was back at headquarters when the order to march was 
given. 

The lieutenant-general had a peculiar enmity towards all roads, high- 
ways as well as railroads, over which supplies could be brought to the 
enemy. When the Sixth Corps arrived at Petersburg, they relieved the 
Fifth in the lines, and the Fifth was immediately sent to destroy the 
Weldon Railroad for forty miles below Petersburg. But it was rumored 
that the enemy were bringing in supplies by wagons over the Boydton 
Plank Road. He immediately ordered a movement to put a stop to this. 
General Lee was very sensitive about his right flank, and could easily 
move troops from any part of his lines to defend it. When, therefore, 
a move was made to the left of the Union lines, it had to be in force. In 
this case, the Second and Fifth Corps were sent out, and the whole army 
was prepared to go to their assistance. There was much hard fighting 
during the day, and at night General Humphreys found himself hard 
pressed, having on his front a part of Hill's and Gordon's corps, and the 
First Division of the Sixth Corps was sent to his relief. The rest of the 
story is told in the diary. — C. S. 



328 Recollections of the Civil War 

Tuesday, February 7th. We waited all day, expecting 
to go into action, but no orders came. The cold 
increased. The earth was stiffened to a solid surface 
by the frost. Wood was plenty, and we made large 
fires. About 1 o'clock, we received orders to return to 
camp, and reached our old quarters about 4 o'clock in 
the morning. We had three men wounded. Otherwise 
there was no loss. 

In a letter, February gth, to his brother William, from 
Camp Warren Station, he wrote: 

I returned yesterday from our raid across Hatcher's Run. 
We had a most dismal time. It rained hard and blew very 
cold all day Tuesday, and we were both wet through and 
frozen stiff, and we only had one night's sleep out of three. 
Consequently, I came back slightly wearied with my exer- 
tions, and yesterday I felt dull enough. To-day, however, I 
feel brighter and have been reading quietly. I have at last 
got hold of Napier's Peninsular War, and am reading it with 
a great deal of pleasure. If they will only give me time 
enough to finish it before we have to enter upon the spring 
campaign, I shall think I have not entirely misspent my 
winter. Still, I don't do as much as I might if I only had the 
proper tools here to work with. Books are pretty scarce, 
and then we cannot get the proper accompaniment for a 
full appreciation of them. For instance, we need, in reading 
such a history as this, a good atlas for reference. Of course 
we have here no access to anything of the sort. I see by the 
papers to-day that Harry Gilmor is captured. 1 I should 

1 This is the Major Gilmor previously referred to, who left Mrs. 
O'Bannon's house at Winchester when he heard General Sheridan's 
guns, on the 19th of September. He was a Marylander, and one of the 
boldest and most successful partisan chiefs in the valley. He drew 
many of his recruits from his native State, and was very expert in his 
operations. Sheridan determined to get him, and put his scouts after 
him. It was found that he was expecting some recruits from Maryland 
and was awaiting them at a house about four miles from Moorfield, a 



Petersburg 329 

like to hear what my Rebel friends say to this if it is a fact. 
You know he was a paragon of excellence in their eyes. I 
must close to send this by to-night's mail. 

Camp 37TH Mass. Vols., Feb. 13, '65. 
My dear Brother Hen : 

I believe I am your debtor for one or two letters. I meant 
to have written you last week, but the first part of the week 
I was off on that raid, and since my return I have been 
occupied a portion of the time by court-martial duty, and 
the rest of the time it has taken all my energies to keep 
warm. I think yesterday and to-day have been the coldest 
days of the season, and last night the wind blew so that it 
tore our tents pretty much all to pieces, and came near 
leaving us looking through bare poles into the face of heaven 
which, in the existing state of the temperature, was not so 
nice. Still we survived the night by dint of close snugging 
and drifts of clothes. 

We have been very much amused with the newspaper 
accounts of our last move across Hatcher's Run. The 
correspondents of the Fifth Corps have tried to cover up 
the bad behavior of a certain portion of the troops of that 

very disloyal district. The general ordered Major Young, his scout- 
master, to take twenty of his best men, put them in Confederate 
uniforms, represent himself as taking recruits to Gilmore and go to 
Moorfield, and he told him he would send a squad of Federal cavalry in 
pursuit of him. Major Young's representations that he had this body of 
recruits for Gilmore, and was hard pressed by the Union cavalry, secured 
for him accurate information and a ready access to the house. On arriv- 
ing he said he must report at once, and going to the guerilla's room he 
covered him with his cocked six-shooter, and awaking him, imparted to 
him the information that he was a prisoner to one of General Sheridan's 
staff officers. Gilmore says, in his Four Years in the Saddle, that he 
remarked, "I suppose that you want me to go with you." To which 
the officer replied, "I shall be happy to have your company to Win- 
chester, as General Sheridan wishes to consult you about some impor- 
tant military matters." Sheridan sent him to Fort Warren in Boston 
Harbor, where he remained until the war was over. It was a neat 
little job, well done, and caused a good deal of fun for those who had a 
right to laugh. (See Sheridan's Memoirs, ii., pp. 105-107). — C. S. 



33° Recollections of the Civil War 

corps by all manner of excuses. One claims that they 
behaved most gallantly ; another correspondent allows that 
there was slight confusion, but that they were overpowered 
by vastly superior numbers, and still another that the Sixth 
Corps, coming up in their rear, fired into them, producing 
confusion. 

The facts in the case were simply these: The Third 
Division of the Fifth Corps was repulsed, and a causeless 
panic seized them and they ran more than a mile, and, more 
than that, they had no enemy of any consequence following 
them, and those who were nearest to their rear turned and 
fired upon those who were tardier in their flight and many 
were thus killed. One brigade of our division was rushed 
on the double-quick to their support, and the first they 
knew while they were moving by the flank, before they had 
had time to deploy, this frightened, rushing tide of men 
came back upon them, and for the moment threw them into 
confusion. But General Wheaton soon formed line, and 
after he had his brigade formed into line, it suffered more 
from shots fired by our own men in the rear than from the 
enemy. 1 

This was the brigade which General Warren told General 
Wheaton saved the day. We rallied several regiments and 
made them form just in our rear, but some were so frightened 
that they ran clear into Sixth Corps headquarters before 
they could be persuaded to halt, a distance of six miles. 
General Meade sent out his cavalry and arrested 2000 of 
them along the road who were putting for the rear as fast 
as they could go. I never saw such a rout, and it made me 
so mad I wanted to shoot some of the officers, who were as 
bad as the men — scared to death. 

1 See report of Major-General Wheaton, commanding First Division, 
Sixth Corps, O. R., xlvi., pt. 1, p. 297. At page 299, he says: "While we 
were being fired upon, Major R. P. Lincoln, the division inspector, had 
been despatched to General Warren (Fifth Corps), who was close at 
hand, and informed him of our danger from his men, and through 
General Warren's exertions the firing was stopped." 



Petersburg 331 

It seems that the Rebs were behaving about as badly as 
our men, and General Lee's official report is much more 
favorable for us than our generals could publish, and it was 
circulated among our troops for their encouragement. I 
see by the papers that Major Shepard is among the missing. 
I am sorry to hear that, and hope he will turn up all safe yet. 

I see Major Young of General Sheridan's scouts has 
captured Harry Gilmor and has taken him over to Fort 
Warren. I know Major Young as well as I do you almost. 
He was on Colonel Edwards's staff all summer and belongs 
to the Second Rhode Island Regiment of our brigade. I 
am mighty glad he has met with this success, for I think he 
is one of the bravest little fellows I ever saw in my life. He 
has been hunting after Mosby all the fall while we were in 
the valley. I should like to hear what my Winchester 
friends would say to Harry Gilmor's capture. If I were 
there I should laugh at them a little. 

Colonel Montague has gone to Washington, and this 
leaves Captain Hopkins in command of the regiment. 
Colonel Edwards is expected back this week. 

Yr. affec. brother, 

Mase. 

Camp Warren Station, Feb. 15, 1865. 
My dear Mother : 

Albert Kellogg started for home this morning, and I sent 
a couple of military pamphlets and some letters home by 
him. I was very glad the boy could get a chance to go. 
His mother has wanted so long to see him, and has been so 
long separated from him, that I hope it will relieve her 
anxieties. 

I have a miserable cold to-day that makes my head feel 
bigger than a bushel basket. The day also has been one of 
those murky, stormy days that are well calculated to 
encourage such feelings. It is cold and rainy and muddy 
out of doors, and if you stay in, your stove smokes from 
disgust at the idea of associating its eruptions with such an 



33 2 Recollections of the Civil War 

atmosphere as this weather affords. I have staj^ed in my 
tent pretty much all day, but I have been nearly suffocated 
several times with the smoke. I have managed, however, 
to read some fifty pages of Napier, and this afternoon I have 
written a letter to Carrie Tyler. So I have not been alto- 
gether idle. . . . There is some prospect that we may get 
paid up to January 1st next week. That is to say, some one 
announced that the paymasters are coming down to pay 
the army at that time. I hope and sincerely trust it is so. 

Mr. Cutter brought me your box last Saturday night, 
and I ate a piece of pie, some currants, and a piece of cake, 
and tasted the honey before it had been here five minutes, 
and before the next night it was all gone. Much obliged. 
I should have said, however, that the bottle of honey, that 
is, two thirds of it, stands before me now as I write, and 
usually adorns the centre of my table, and is quite an object 
of curiosity to the uninitiated. I tell them it is Greek honey. 
Whether they fully appreciate that there should be any 
special merit in honey from the classic land, I am unable to 
say. But they appreciate it as coming from Greece full as 
well, I guess, as if I told them it came to them from Mount 
Hymettus. 

Four deserters came in last night from the Rebs on our 
brigade line. They were said by those that saw them to be 
splendid-looking fellows, and were from North Carolina 
regiments. Almost all the deserters that we get now seem 
to be from the Old North State. They say that their State 
and their soldiers want to come back into the Union, and 
they individually believe it their duty to encourage it by 
setting the example. 

Mr. Cutter came back, and now he has been detailed as 
nurse in the Sixth Corps hospital at City Point. He is unfit 
for field duty, and the hospital is the only place that he 
ought to serve. I think our Sixth Corps hospital here in 
the field is the most tastefully arranged camp that I have 
seen since I have been in the army. It is in the form of a 
cross and has a beautiful fence made of rough hewn timber, 



Petersburg 333 

and this fence describes all sorts of fantastic curves, and all 
the entrances are adorned with beautiful arches formed of 
fresh evergreens. There is some firing on the line to-night, 
the pickets seem to be having a lively time. I have sent 
my watch home by Albert Kellogg. I want it cleaned, and 
asked him to bring it back with him. 

Camp Warren Station, Feb. 22, 1865. 
My dear Brother Henry : 

. . . This is Washington's Birthday, and I suppose 
there will be a good deal of celebrating in the army as 
well as at home on account of the good news received 
yesterday. A hundred guns were fired yesterday in our line 
in honor of the victory. ' You never saw anything like the 
desertions that are occurring among the Rebs these days. 
We average about twenty a night on our division line, and 
on the Ninth Corps I understand they have about one 
hundred a night. They tell large stories saying that what 
come this way are not a circumstance to what are going the 
other, and they all declare that, as soon as their men fully 
understand that there is no chance for peace, they will 
throw down their arms and come in en masse, and that 
they won't be led into any such struggle as they had last 
summer. Their very best and most substantial material 
seems to be deserting. Some of them are as intelligent 
men as you often see. 

General Grant seems slightly apprehensive of an attack, 
as he has ordered one tenth of the command to be under 
arms at all hours of the day and night. 2 There seems to be 

'The news of the evacuation of Fort Sumter reached the army on the 
2 1st and a hundred guns were fired by order of General Grant. The 
Secretary of War ordered a hundred guns fired on the 22d in honor of 
the event, and it was done. — C. S. 

2 General Meade had been called away to attend the funeral of his 
son, and General Parke, commanding the Ninth Corps, was in command 
of the Army of the Potomac, when the following characteristic letter 
was written : 



334 Recollections of the Civil War 

an impression that Lee has got to do something desperate, 
and that very soon. But I hardly think his army is in any 
condition for such undertaking at the present time. 

I am having a chimney put up for my tent. I could not 
stand the stove any longer. . . . 

We have just received orders to look out for an attack, so 
I must close for this time. 

Your affec. brother, 

Mase. 

Friday, February 24. We heard to-day of the cap- 
ture of Wilmington, North Carolina. r 

"City Point, Va m Feb. 22, 1865. 
"Major-General Parke, 

"Commanding Army of the Potomac: 

"As there is a possibility of an attack from the enemy at any 
time, and especially an attempt to break your centre, extra vigilance 
should be kept up both by the pickets and the troops on the line. Let 
commanders understand that no time is to be lost awaiting orders, if an 
attack is made, in bringing all their reserves to the point of danger. 
With proper alacrity in this respect I would have no objection to seeing 
the enemy get through. 

"U. S. Grant, Lieutenant-General." 
(O. R., xli., pt. 2, p. 631.)— C. S. 

"City Point, Feb. 24th. 
" Major-General Parke: 

" Announce to your troops the capture of Wilmington on the 22d 
instant by the troops under Schofield and Terry. Fire a shotted 
salute in honor of the event at 4 o'clock this afternoon. 

"U. S. Grant, Lieutenant-General." 
(O. R. xlvi., pt. 2, p. 670.) 

The following circular by General Wright to the officers and soldiers 
of the Sixth Corps, dated February 25 th, will explain a reference in a 
letter written the next day. " As any movement on the enemy's part 
is at once to be followed up, the entire corps, without striking tents, 
will be held ready to move in pursuit at a moment's warning. The 
major-general commanding deems the utmost vigilance on the part of 
the pickets, and readiness on the part of the whole command to move 
promptly, as of first importance, and trusts that the corps will not be 
behind the others in the army in these particulars." (O. R.,ibid., p. 
695O-C s. 






Petersburg 335 

Camp Warren Station, Feb. 26th. 
My dear Mother : 

We have been pretty much all excitement this past 
week. First the fall of Charlestown, then the capture of 
Fort Anderson, then, Friday, we received the announce- 
ment of the capture of Wilmington. For two or three days 
here we have been expecting the evacuation of Petersburg 
to take place. Four days ago, as we learned from deserters, 
General Lee gave the order to prepare for evacuation. The 
middle of the week we thought he was going to assault and 
attempt to break through our lines, and we were up betimes 
and ready for him, but no General Lee came. Last night 
we received the order to be ready to move at any hour in the 
night, as it was thought the Rebs were moving across the 
river. We were not, however, disturbed, so I suppose they 
have not yet gone from our front. 

Deserters are coming in at the rate of about seventy a 
night on our corps line. They keep us pretty well informed 
in regard to the movements of the enemy. Night before 
last a whole company of South Carolina troops came in. 
It is not often that we get them from that State. 1 We 
occasionally see a Richmond paper a day later than we get 
from the North. Some of them are very blustering, and 
others do nothing but grumble and find fault. 

Amid all the gloom and desperation of the Southern 
cause, however, I must say I cannot but admire the calm, 
placid language of General Lee's despatches and letters. 
Not a word of boastfulness or even enthusiasm that would 
lead you to think that he was overdoing the matter to inspire 
hope among the people, and on the other hand there is not 
one sign of despondency, but every letter bears the impress 
of resolution and even of confidence in the result. He must 
be a great man. 

Colonel Edwards returned Friday morning and is at 
present in command of the regiment. He has decided to 

1 General Wright reports that seventy-six deserters came in, about 
two-thirds with arms (O. R., xlvi., pt. 2, p. 674). 



336 Recollections of the Civil War 

remain in the service. They offer him a brigade in the 
Second Corps and also one in the Second Division of our 
corps. He rather expects to go to the Second Corps. 
Letters from Montague last night state that he expects to 
be out of the service soon. I was in command of the regi- 
ment for a day or two, while Captain Hopkins was officer 
of the picket line. It is so stormy this morning that our 
inspection has been postponed. I am officer of the day and 
consequently on duty, and have to look out for a surprise in 
case of an attack on our line. One tenth of our command is 
under arms all the time now. It has cleared off beautifully 
this afternoon, although the wind blows roughly and makes 
our tent flap. I think that our large chapel will be rather 
airy. The church bells have just sounded and I must cease 
my writing. 

Time passes rather stupidly for me these days, in that 
my eyes deny me the privilege of reading or writing to any 
great extent. My tent mate reads the papers to me and 
sometimes other things. 

Your affec. son, 

Mase. 



In a letter to his brother, dated Warren Station, February 
26th, he wrote: 

Yesterday I was very busy, as I had to muster the regi- 
ment. I am not half through my work yet, as I still have 
more than fifty rolls to look over and correct, which all 
devolves upon me, as Colonel Edwards is sick and Captain 
Hopkins is sitting at court martial. We are, however, 
waiting a day or two for the arrival of the paymaster before 
we finish our rolls, trusting that we shall be paid up to 
December 31st. 

Monday I was detailed to take charge of a party of 300 
men from our division who are at work building Fort Fisher. 
This fort occupies the nearest point of our lines to the 
South Side Railroad, and is a large, bastioned work capable 



Petersburg 337 

of holding 3000 men. Our corps has been at work on it 
over a month, and it is now nearly completed and is one of 
the strongest works on our lines. The Rebs have two 
strong works opposite to it, about 2000 yards distant. 
Just below Fort Fisher the opposing lines are so near together 
that the men from both sides chop wood from the same 
trees and are on perfectly good terms. Now, however, for a 
week past they are very chary of our men. They are 
watched much more strictly by their officers on account of 
the great number of desertions that have taken place. On 
this account, desertions are not quite as frequent as they 
have been. Those that do come in, however, report that 
General Lee has gone to North Carolina, and Johnston is in 
command of the army. . . . 

I have a splendid new fireplace and am enjoying the 
comfort of it amazingly. Colonel Edwards is talking of 
taking command of a negro division in Weitzel's corps. » 

[The month of March was an exceedingly anxious time 
for the lieutenant-general, but until the last of the month 
nothing transpired of interest to the outside world . Inspec- 
tions grew more and more rigid, a vigilant watch was kept 
on the movements of the enemy to prevent surprise, for 
General Grant had made up his mind that Lee would try 
to break the Union lines. But his greatest anxiety was lest 
he should wake up some morning and find the Rebel army 
gone. 2 Against both these contingencies he made ample 
provision. In the meantime, the daily report of the corps 
commanders was, "Nothing of importance in front of my 
lines during the last twenty-four hours." This was fol- 
lowed by a statement of the number of deserters who had 
come in. On the 24th, General Grant issued his orders for 
an advance on the 29th. 3 

1 Weitzel was, at this time, at Bermuda Hundred, with the rest of the 
Army of the James. See Grant's Memoirs, vol. ii., p. 434. 

2 See O. R., xlvi., pt. I, p. 52; Grant's Memoirs, vol. ii., p. 430. 
J Grant's Memoirs, vol. ii., p. 434; O. R., xlvi., pt. I, p. 50. 



338 Recollections of the Civil War 

During this period, the diary was almost entirely neg- 
lected, and the letters were given up to personal and 
domestic matters. Major Tyler during this time had to be 
very careful about the use of his eyes, and did not read or 
write more than he was obliged to. Saturday, March 4th, 
he records the fact that he was this day commissioned 
major, under date of February 14th. 

But General Grant's expectation about an attack in force 
was realized. On the night of the 24th, General Gordon, 
with his corps reinforced by Bushrod Johnson's division, 
made an attempt to break the Union lines between Fort 
Stedman and Battery No. 10, in front of the Ninth Corps. 1 
"The plan," says General Grant, "was well conceived and 
the execution of it very well done indeed, up to the point of 
carrying a portion of our line." 2 They succeeded in cap- 
turing the fort and several batteries, but the Union army 
was on the alert and, without orders from General Meade 
who was at City Point, troops were hurried from all points 
along the lines to the point of danger. But before they 
arrived, General Parke, commanding the Ninth Corps, had 
recaptured the fort and batteries. The attack cost Lee 
four thousand men and the Union army about two thou- 
sand. The Sixth and Second Corps were commanded by 
General Meade to feel the enemy's strength in their front 
and to take advantage of any weakness. The next entry 
in the diary refers to this attack. — C. S.] 

Saturday, March 25th. The Rebs attacked and cap- 
tured Fort Stedman. Our division was ordered to go 
and aid in its recapture. But the Ninth Corps recap- 
tured it before we got there. We were then ordered 
back and made a charge and captured the Rebel picket 
line in front of Fort Wadsworth about 4 o'clock. 
President and Mrs. Lincoln, General and Mrs. Grant, 

1 See War Map 77 (2), on the'east side of the city of Petersburg. 
3 Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 431. 









Petersburg 339 

and General Meade visited Fort Wadsworth and 
watched the movement of the troops. x I was wounded 
in the charge while in command of the regiment. 2 

Sunday, March 26th. Our division returned to 
camp this morning at 4 o'clock. 

In a letter from Warren Station he wrote to his parents: 

I drop you a line this afternoon to relieve your anxieties, 
as you will probably hear that I am wounded before this 
reaches you. I was scratched yesterday afternoon in the 
fight that our corps had with A. P. Hill's troops. The ball 
glanced from a tree, and just grazed my knee at the joint. 
I thought at first the joint was shattered all to pieces, but 
soon found that I could move it. I stayed on the field 
mounted on my horse until nine in the evening, and then 
returned to camp. To-day I am very stiff. 

P. S. — Fred Allen 3 has just come in and is to stay six 
weeks in the service of the Christian Commission. It seems 
good to see him. The ball, you understand, did not pierce 
the flesh, but merely grazed it, producing a contusion, and 
on that particular spot it is rather uncomfortable. The 
doctors say that I may be around in a week and may not 
in a month. 

[Fred Allen adds:] I write this at Mason's side. I am 
here to-day, and hearing of Mason's being hurt, hunted 
him up immediately and am delighted to find that his 
injury is so slight. I am settled down for six weeks within 

1 It is possible that this was a camp rumor only, as no mention of the 
visit has been found in the historical authorities. 

2 See itinerary of this date, O. R., xlvi., pt. I, p. ioo. Colonel 
Edwards, commanding the Third Brigade, First Division, Sixth Corps, 
in his report of the affair of the 25th, says: "The brigade behaved 
entirely to my satisfaction, and I would particularly mention the Fifth 
Wisconsin Volunteers, Colonel Allen, and the Thirty-seventh Massa- 
chusetts Volunteers, {Major Tyler {commanding" (O. R., xlvi., pt. 1, 
p. 301)- 

3 The Rev. Frederick B. Allen. 



34° Recollections of the Civil War 

300 feet of him at the Christian Commission quarters, and 
shall see a good deal of him. You may be assured I shall 
do whatever I can for him. 

Monday, March 27th. Major Young called. 1 

[Major Tyler was not destined to have a hand in the 
great campaign which was about to commence — the cam- 
paign of the Appomattox. On the 24th of March, General 
Grant issued his order for an advance of both the Army of 
the Potomac and the Army of the James, to commence on 
the 29th, "for the double purpose of turning the enemy out 
of his present position around Petersburg, and to insure 
the success of the cavalry under General Sheridan, which 
will start at the same time, in its effort to reach and destroy 
the South Side and Danville Railroads." 2 

The desperate attempt of General Lee, on the morning 
of the 25th, to break the Union lines did not delay the move- 
ment ordered by the lieutenant-general, but rather prepared 
the way for it. Fort Stedman had hardly been recaptured 
when orders were sent to the corps commanders "to feel 
the strength of the enemy's lines in their front and to 
take advantage of any weakness." The Sixth Corps was 
advanced at once and after some hard fighting succeeded in 
capturing the enemj^'s rifle-pits. Several determined but 
unsuccessful efforts were made to recapture them. It was 
in this struggle for the rifle-pits that Major Tyler was 
wounded while in command of his regiment. The result of 
the fight was the advance of the Union lines something like 
half a mile. This proved to be a great advantage, for it 
was on this very ground that the Sixth Corps formed in 
line of battle when ordered to storm, on the morning of 
the 2d of April, the fortifications in their front. 

Major Tyler's wound proved to be more serious than 

1 This is the Major Young who caught Gilmor. Seepages328and33i, 
above. 

1 O. R., xlvi., pt. I, p. 50. 



Petersburg 341 

was at first anticipated, and the army doctors advised him 
that amputation was necessary. He had seen so much of 
reckless haste in such cases in the army that he concluded 
to ask for a furlough and have the advice of a city specialist. 
The surgeon in Boston also advised amputation; but the 
family physician in Amherst undertook to save the leg by 
special treatment. His advice was followed, and in the 
end proved effectual. But the healing process was slow 
and excessively painful, and it was several months before 
he was able to return to his regiment. 

After the surrender of the Rebel army at Appomattox, 
the Sixth Corps was retained for service in Virginia and was 
not present at the grand review of the Army of the Potomac 
at Washington on the 23d of May. It was arranged to 
have a review of the Sixth Corps at Richmond on the 24th. 
That afternoon they started on their homeward march, 
and on June 2d the Thirty-seventh went into camp at 
Bailey's Cross Roads about five miles from Washington. 
It was at this place on June 6th that Major Tyler rejoined 
his regiment, as he was able to do by the use of a cane. On 
the 8th, the corps was reviewed in Washington by the Presi- 
dent and his Cabinet, with Generals Grant and Meade and 
many other officers. 

The historian of the regiment thus describes the scene: 
' ' For this event, the command was roused very early in the 
morning, crossing Long Bridge to the vicinity of the Capitol, 
where the corps was massed. At 9.30 the advance guard, 
the First Connecticut Cavalry, cleared the way, and at 10 
the column began to move. The brigades and divisions 
proceeded in numerical order, the artillery following the 
Third Division, and the rear being composed of 200 New 
York engineers, with a pontoon train. The Third Brigade, 
First Division, General Edwards, moved in the following 
order: Eighty-second Pennsylvania Veterans, 960 men, 
Brevet Brigadier- General Bassett; Second Rhode Island 
Veterans, 450 men, Lieutenant-Colonel Rhodes; Forty- 
ninth Pennsylvania Veterans, 305 men, Colonel Hickman; 



34 2 Recollections of the Civil War 

Thirty-seventh Massachusetts, 300 men, Major Tyler; 
Fifth Wisconsin, 400 men, Colonel Allen. As the Thirty- 
seventh passed the reviewing-stand by company front, 
fewer in numbers than any of its sister organizations, the 
waste of the terrible campaigns it had passed through was 
vividly realized. Company K, the color company, proudly 
bore the tattered standards before the cheering multitudes 
with scarcely eight files to guard the priceless treasures." 1 
The diary records only a few facts and dates. — C. S.] 

Wednesday, June 21st. The Thirty- seventh Regi- 
ment was mustered out to-day. 

Thursday, June 22 d. Reveille sounded at 3, broke 
camp at 5 under General Edwards and marched to 
Washington; took cars at 11 a.m., reached Baltimore 
at 3 p.m., started again at 5, reaching Philadelphia after 
midnight, and were feasted as usual at the Cooper shop. 

Friday, June 23d. At daylight took cars for Amboy, 
and by transport from there reached New York at 
noon. After dinner marched up Broadway, and at 
6 P.M., boarded steamboat Traveller for Hudson, which 
place we reached at daylight of the 24th, and at 5.30 
breakfasted. 

Saturday, June 24th. Reached Pittsfield by train at 
10 o'clock. Twenty-seven cars took us out in 1862; 
we only required six cars when we returned. We were 
welcomed by Henry L. Dawes, United States Senator, 
and E. H. Kellogg. Reached Springfield by train at 
2.30 p.m., were taken to the City Hall and feasted. 
Very enthusiastically received. Reached Readville 
that evening, and went into camp. 

Monday, June 26th. Regimental colors were de- 
livered to the care of the Commonwealth at the 
State-house. 

1 Bowen, p. 427. 



Conclusion 343 

Sunday, July 2d. Payment of men and officers com- 
pleted, men discharged and regiment disbanded. 

CONCLUSION 

[It was a great experience to have been associated for 
nearly three years with such a body of men as composed the 
Sixth Corps of the Army of the Potomac. Colonel Tyler 1 
was very proud of his regiment and of the corps to which 
it belonged. The nature of the service rendered by the 
Thirty-seventh is clearly indicated in the fact that the 
regiment lost in killed and mortally wounded 169 men, 
besides twelve who died in Rebel prisons. The character 
of the men in his company is well illustrated by the fact 
that not one of them deserted. 

The Sixth Corps had a great record. Its name will ever 
be associated with that of Sheridan and the brilliant cam- 
paign in the Valley of the Shenandoah. But the last few 
days of its service were the most remarkable of all. Agree- 
able to the orders of the lieutenant-general, Sheridan, with 
the cavalry and the Fifth Corps, moved out on the 29th of 
March to the left, and on the 31st, he sent word to General 
Grant : " If the ground would permit, I believe I could, with 
the Sixth Corps, turn the enemy's left or break through his 
lines, but I would not like the Fifth Corps to make such an 
attempt." General Grant replied the same day: "It will 
be impossible to give you the Sixth Corps for the operation 
by our left. It is in the centre of our line between Hatcher's 
Run and the Appomattox. Besides, Wright thinks he can 
go through the line where he is, and it is advisable to have 
troops and a commander there who feel so, to co-operate 
with you when you get around." 2 

1 He was appointed May 4, 1865, Lieutenant-Colonel, and June 26, 
1865, Colonel, of the regiment by brevet. He could not be commis- 
sioned as Colonel, although in command of the regiment, because the 
losses in the service had depleted the ranks of the regiment below the 
numbers required by law for a commissioned officer of that rank. 

*0. R.,xlvi., pt. 3, p. 380. 



344 Recollections of the Civil War 

General Sheridan with the cavalry and the Fifth Corps, 
on the ist of April, gained a decisive victory at Five Forks, 
cutting off the right wing of Lee's army from the main body. 
When the news reached General Grant's headquarters, 
about 9 o'clock, the corps commanders were immediately 
informed and asked as to their condition. At n p.m., 
General Wright, commanding the Sixth Corps, replied: 
"Everything will be ready. The corps will go in solid, and 
I am sure will make the fur fly. The general plan being 
understood well by the various commanders, there will be 
no hesitation from want of knowledge of what is expected. 
If the corps does half as well as I expect, we will have broken 
through the Rebel lines fifteen minutes from the word 
'go.'" 1 This despatch was sent by General Meade to 
General Grant, who replied, ' ' I like the way Wright talks ; 
it argues success. I heartily approve." 2 Orders were 
immediately issued for an advance at 4 o'clock the next 
morning. 

The Sixth Corps was formed in line of battle at 1 
o'clock on the morning of the 2d, on the ground captured 
by them on the 25th where Major Tyler was wounded, and 
a little after four the charge was made. An eye-witness 
standing on the parapet of Fort Welch thus described 
the scene to Brigadier-General Hazard Stevens, assistant 
adjutant-general, serving on the staff of General Getty, 
commanding the Second Division, Sixth Corps: "He 
related to me, not long afterwards, that he was standing on 
the parapet when the advance was ordered, and was 
anxiously peering into the darkness and awaiting the result 
in doubt and apprehensive of disaster. He could hear the 
muffled tramp and rustle of the moving host, but could 
discern nothing. He saw the flashes of the first volley ; he 
heard the mighty shout of ten thousand throats, and then 
he saw, stretching across the front for half a mile a line of 
flashing fire, crackling, blazing, and sparkling in the dark- 
ness, vividly lightened up here and there by the heavier and 

1 O. R., xlvi., pt. 3, p. 423. ■ Id., p. 399- 



Conclusion 345 

deeper flash of artillery, while shells with their fiery trail 
sped forward through the gloom in every direction. 
Although missiles hurtled overhead, and stray bullets went 
hissing past, he could not leave, but stood intently watching 
that deadly line of fire. Suddenly in the middle of it there 
appeared a tiny black spot, a narrow gap, which spread and 
widened, inch by inch and moment by moment, to the right 
and left, and then he knew the works were carried, even 
before the exulting cheers of our troops proclaimed the 
fact." 1 

The centre of Lee's army was shattered. In vain were 
his desperate efforts to stay the victorious column. The 
position he had so long held had become untenable, and 
that da}^ he ordered the evacuation of Richmond. The 
lieutenant-general did not forget the wish of General 
Sheridan, and says : ' ' When the move towards Amelia Court- 
House had commenced that morning, I ordered Wright's 
corps, which was on the extreme right, to be moved to the 
left past the whole army, to take the place of Griffin's, and 
ordered the latter at the same time to move by and place 
itself on the right. The object of this movement was to get 
the Sixth Corps, Wright's, next to the cavalry, with which 
they had formerly served so harmoniously and so efficiently 
in the valley of Virginia." 2 

Late in the afternoon of April 6th, the rear guard of the 
Rebel army made a stand at Sailor's Creek. The Sixth 
Corps had now to face about ten thousand of Lee's veterans, 
but not even the fatigue of this strenuous campaign had 
dampened their ardor. As a result, they took or put hots 
de combat some six thousand of the enemy, and among those 
taken prisoners were Lieutenant-General Ewald and Briga- 
dier-General Custis Lee (son of General Robert E. Lee), 
the latter being captured by Corporal David White of 
Company E of the Thirty-seventh Massachusetts Regiment. 

The next morning presented a scene unparalleled in 

1 Papers of the Historical Society of Massachusetts, vol. vi., p. 426. 

2 Personal Memoirs, vol. ii., p. 473. 



34 6 Recollections of the Civil War 

history. Two great opposing armies rushing through a 
country as yet unvisited by war, in the full beauty of early 
spring, without firing a gun, both the pursued and the pur- 
suers exerting all the strength that it was possible for men 
to exert. At 7 o'clock in the evening of April 7th, General 
Grant hinted to General Lee that "he felt that further 
resistance on his part was useless." On the morning of the 
9th of April, the Rebels found Sheridan with his cavalry 
standing across their path, and while they were preparing 
to attack him, the cavalry withdrew from right to left, and 
disclosed the Fifth Corps and Ord's Army of the James. 

With two army corps and the cavalry in front, and two 
army corps pressing upon his rear, the great general with 
his brave soldiers who had so long baffled the Army of the 
Potomac was now between the upper and nether mill- 
stones. "To fight would have been a crime equal to delib- 
erate murder," to surrender was honorable, and never, up 
to that time certainly, had a foe won or received more 
generous terms. 

Major-General Wright, commanding the Sixth Corps, 
thus describes the spirit of the corps during the last few 
days of the war: "In this battle of Sailor's Creek, the corps 
nobly sustained its previous well-earned reputation. It 
made the forced march which preceded that battle with 
great cheerfulness and enthusiasm, and went into the fight 
with a determination to be successful seldom evinced by the 
best troops, and by its valor made the battle of Sailor's 
Creek the most important of the last and crowning contests 
against the Rebel Army of Northern Virginia. To it had 
fallen the opportunity of striking the decisive blows, not 
only at Petersburg, on the 2d of April, but at Sailor's 
Creek, on the 6th, and most gallantly did it vindicate the 
confidence reposed in it by its own officers and the com- 
mander of the Army of the Potomac. The corps has always 
fought well, but never better than in the assault at Peters- 
burg, and at Sailor's Creek four days after." 1 

1 O. R., xlvi., pt. 1, p. 907. 



Conclusion 347 

But the Sixth Corps won not only the commendations 
of its own commander, but also those of the major-general, 
commanding the Army of the Potomac. On April 17th, 
General Meade addressed the officers and soldiers presenting 
battle-flags captured by the Sixth Corps : 

"Officers and soldiers of the Sixth Corps: I thank you 
very much for these numerous proofs of your valor captured 
during the recent campaign. I do not wish to make any 
invidious distinctions between your own and the other corps 
of this army. They performed with valor and courage the 
part assigned to them. But candor compels me to say that 
in my opinion the decisive movement of this campaign 
which resulted in the capture of the Army of Northern 
Virginia was the gallant and successful assault of the Sixth 
Corps on the morning of the 2d of April. It was with 
much pleasure I had received a despatch from your com- 
mander assuring me his confidence in your courage was so 
great that he felt confident of his ability to break through 
the enemy's lines. I finally ordered the charge to be made 
at 4 o'clock on the morning of the 2d, and it was with still 
greater satisfaction that a few hours afterward I had the 
pleasure of transmitting a despatch to the general-in-chief 
telling him the confidence of your brave commander had 
been fully borne out. 

"To you, brave men, I return the thanks of the country 
and of the army. To each of you a furlough of thirty days 
will be granted to enable you to present these proofs of your 
valor to the War Department. Let us all hope that the 
work upon which we have been engaged for nearly four years 
is over, that the South will return to its allegiance, and that 
our beloved flag will once more float in triumph over a 
peaceful and undivided country extending from the Atlantic 
to the Pacific and from the Saint Lawrence to the Gulf of 
Mexico."— C. S.] 1 

■O. R., xlvi., pt. I, p. 909. 



APPENDIX 

Account of the Parts Taken and the Positions 
Occupied by the Several Brigades of the Sixth 
Corps at the Battle of the Bloody Angle at 
Spottsylvania Court-House 

first brigade of the first division of the sixth 

corps, usually known as the first 

new jersey brigade 

THIS brigade was composed of the following regi- 
ments: First, Second, Third, Fourth, Tenth, and 
Fifteenth New Jersey Volunteers. 

It was commanded at this time by Coionel Henry W. 
Brown. Upon the arrival of the brigade with the 
balance of the First Division of the Sixth Corps at 
9.30 o'clock on the morning of the 12th in front of the 
works at Spottsylvania, the brigade was assigned a 
position in front of the point assaulted and captured by 
General Upton on the 10th of May, as heretofore de- 
scribed. They were at once formed into a column of 
attack in which the First, Fourth, and Fifteenth Regi- 
ments constituted the first line, and four companies 
of the Second Regiment (the other six being on picket), 
and the Third and Tenth constituted the second line. 

By 10 o'clock the column was ready to move, and 
the order was given to advance and charge. 

349 



350 Recollections of the Civil War 

The following description of that charge is given in 
Haines's History of the Fifteenth Regiment New Jersey 
Volunteers, at pages 174 and 176: 

Colonel Penrose led his command [the Fifteenth Regi- 
ment] with great steadiness, forbidding his men to fire a 
musket until they saw the enemy, and every shot should 
tell. We had first to break our way through a thicket of 
scraggy pines with dead limbs. Then, as we emerged from 
the cover, there was a piece of open ground to cross. Beyond 
this were fallen trees making the abatis; and then the works. 
These were formed with a bank of earth and logs upon the 
top, with an opening three inches wide through which our 
foes could fire with little exposure to themselves. As soon 
as we appeared, charging over the open plain, they poured 
upon us their deadly, concentrated fire. Our direction 
brought us obliquely upon their works. For a long distance 
to our right, the enemy's rifle-pits could be seen, and their 
occupants, having no attacking enemy on their front, poured 
an enfilading fire upon our ranks. In the short space of 
time required to cross the flat, two hundred men were 
stretched lifeless, or helpless with wounds, upon the ground. 

The Fifteenth did not falter, but dashed on through the 
abatis and over a portion of the breastworks, some of our 
numbers falling dead upon the other side. We captured 
about one hundred prisoners, and a flag belonging to the 
Fourteenth Georgia, which was seized and borne away by 
Jacob Stutz, Company B. We drove out or bayoneted 
those who tenaciously clung to their works. Some threw 
down their muskets and lifted their hands in token of sur- 
render, and lay crouching in the ditch, only, however, to 
resume their weapons when their captors were more hardly 
pressed. . . . 

The tenure of our part of the captured works was brief. 
An enfilading fire from each side poured into our thin ranks. 
The enemy from the second line of works sent a continuous 
shower of bullets. It was impossible to hold the captured 



Appendix 35 1 

bank so long as it was swept by works untaken. Accord- 
ingly, the men were ordered by Colonel Penrose to fall 
back, and when Colonel Campbell gathered his shattered 
battalion beneath the hill, scarce an hundred could be 
counted. 

The following is the list of the losses in this brigade 
from the 8th to the 21st of May, as given in the Official 
Reports, xxxvi., pt. 1, p. 144. This includes the 
killed, wounded, and missing. 

The First New Jersey lost 62 ; Second New Jersey, 68 ; 
Third New Jersey, 148; Fourth New Jersey, 89; Tenth 
New Jersey, 149; Fifteenth New Jersey, 272; Total, 
788. ' 

I have not been able to find any official records or 
any report of the part taken by this brigade, and the 
only regimental report is that of the Fourth New Jersey 
contained in the O. R., xxxvi., pt. 1, p. 664. But in this 
account no particulars are given, although the charge 
is described, and desperate fighting by the command 
spoken of. 

In Foster's history, 1 in which the designated num- 
bers of the regiments engaged are mentioned, no men- 
tion is made of the Tenth New Jersey. That the Tenth 
was present in the engagement, and bore its share of the 
fighting, is indicated by the loss that it incurred as 
given in the above table. In fact, this brigade for 
about half an hour was engaged in as severe a hand-to- 
hand, life-and-death struggle as occurred upon the 
field. After they were driven out from the works, they 
apparently resumed their position at or near the point 
where they formed for the attack, and continued there 
during the day. 

1 Neu Jersey and the Rebellion, by John Y. Foster, is probably the 
book here referred to. 



35 2 Recollections of the Civil War 

SECOND BRIGADE OF THE FIRST DIVISION, SIXTH CORPS, 
COMMONLY KNOWN AS UPTON 's BRIGADE 

This brigade was comprised of four regiments, to wit : 
Fifth Maine, One Hundred Twenty-first New York, 
Ninety-fifth and Ninety-sixth Pennsylvania. 

As before stated, Upton's brigade arrived on the field 
at 9.30 o'clock in the morning, and was immediately 
ordered forward to the point where the fight was raging 
at its hottest, about two hundred feet to the south of the 
west or Bloody Angle. 

General Upton, in his report, describes his movements 
as follows : 

The right flank of this corps being threatened, General 
Russell directed me to move to the right at double-quick to 
support it. Before we could arrive it gave way. As the 
Ninety-fifth Pennsylvania Volunteers reached an elevated 
point of the enemy's works, about 600 yards to the right of 
the Landrum house, it received a heavy volley from the 
second line of works. Seeing that the position was of vital 
importance to hold, and that all the troops had given way 
up to this point, I halted the Ninety-fifth Pennsylvania 
Volunteers, faced to the front, and caused it to lie down. 

Its left rested near the works connecting with the Second 
Corps, while its right, refused, lay behind a crest, oblique 
to the works. Had it given way, the whole line of intrench- 
ments would have been recaptured, and the fruit of the 
morning's victory lost, but it held the ground till the Fifth 
Maine and One Hundred and Twenty-first New York came 
to its support, while the Ninety-sixth Pennsylvania Vol- 
unteers passed on to its right. Shortly after, the Third and 
Vermont Brigades arrived. A section of Gilliss's battery of 
the Fifth U. S. artillery, under Lieutenant Metcalf, came 
up and opened fire, but was immediately charged and lost 
nearly every horse, driver, and cannoneer. The enemy 






Appendix 353 

charged up to his works within ioo feet of the guns, but a 
well-directed fire from the infantry behind the crest pre- 
vented his farther advance. At the point where our line 
diverged from the works, the opposing line came in contact, 
but neither would give ground, and for eighteen hours raged 
the most sanguinary conflict of the war. The point 
remained in our possession at the close of the struggle, and 
is known as the Angle. The brigade was relieved at 5. 30 
p.m. by Colonel McLaughlen's of the Second Corps. 

. . . After being relieved, the brigade was held in reserve, 
and after dark was marched to the right of General Rickett's 
line, near the position occupied on the 9th. x 

The position referred to as the one occupied on the 
9th was in the vicinity of the Alsop house. 

Three regiments of this brigade, the Fifth Maine, One 
Hundred Twenty-first New York, and the Ninety-sixth 
Pennsylvania, were in the forefront of the assault made 
on May 10th, under General Upton's lead, upon the 
same works which were captured by the Second Corps 
on the 1 2th of May. 

The losses of the twelve regiments involved in 
Upton's assault are usually stated as amounting to one 
thousand, killed, wounded, and missing. What pro- 
portion of this was borne by the three regiments from 
Upton's brigade, I do not know. The losses incurred 
by the three Vermont regiments that participated in 
that assault are stated in Benedict's history 2 to have 
been eighty-eight. This should leave a loss of over 900 
to be apportioned to the nine other participating regi- 
ments, or an average loss to each regiment of 100. So 
far as Upton's brigade is concerned, the probability is 
that their loss in the assault of the 10th of May was 
over 300 rather than ;under that figure. The losses of 

1 O. R., xxxvi., pt. 1, p. 669. 

2 Vermont in the Civil War. See page 451. 



354 Recollections of the Civil War 

Upton's brigade from May 8th to 21st, as given in the 
Official War Records, are as follows: Fifth Maine, 131 ; 
One Hundred Twenty-first New York, 155; Ninety- 
fifth Pennsylvania, 135; Ninety-sixth Pennsylvania, 
178; Total, 599. 

If we deduct from this their estimated losses on the 
10th, to wit, 300, and the losses incurred by this brigade 
at Myers's Hill on the 14th, which General Upton, in his 
report, figures at 100, and which must be included in 
the foregoing total, the losses of each of the four regi- 
ments of the brigade on May 12th would be 99 killed, 
wounded, and missing. 

The foregoing report of General Upton requires expla- 
nation in several particulars. There is no doubt that 
the point where General Upton halted the Ninety-fifth 
Pennsylvania, with its left resting near the works, etc., 
was a point in the earthworks about 200 feet south of 
the west or Bloody Angle. They did not connect there 
with the Second Corps. They did connect with 
Edwards's brigade, and the nearest troops of the Second 
Corps at that point, at the time, were portions of regi- 
ments of Mott's division which joined on the left of the 
Thirty-seventh near the east angle, as I have already 
stated. These portions of the regiments were driven 
out of the earthworks about 10 o'clock of May 12th. 

The Thirty-seventh Massachusetts held its position 
on the exterior of those works continuously from 6 
o'clock in the morning of May 12th until 4 o'clock of 
the morning of the next day, as will more clearly appear 
when I come to describe the part taken in this battle 
by Edwards's brigade. 

As to the position of Upton's and Edwards's brigades, 
I speak from personal knowledge, because I was there. 
This is consistent with General Upton's statement 



Appendix 355 

above quoted in his report to the effect that "at a point 
where our line diverged from the works, the opposing 
lines came in contact, but neither would give ground, 
and for eighteen hours raged the most sanguinary con- 
flict of the war." This latter statement is not consis- 
tent with the previous statement that "all the troops 
had given way up to this point." I suppose that Gen- 
eral Upton's earlier statement that the right flank of 
the Second Corps gave way before he arrived, refers 
to the giving way of Mott's troops on the left 
of Edwards's brigade, to which I have just referred. 

Although Upton's brigade was not protected by 
earthworks when they first went into position, yet at 
the place where their line of battle was formed there 
was a natural ridge, behind which they could lie down, 
and it did not take them long to convert this into rifle- 
pits which gave them adequate protection. But for 
this their losses would have been much greater. 

THIRD BRIGADE OF THE FIRST DIVISION, SIXTH CORPS, 
COMMONLY KNOWN AS RUSSELL'S BRIGADE 

This brigade consisted of four regiments, to wit: 
Sixth Maine, Forty-ninth and One Hundred Nineteenth 
Pennsylvania, and the Fifth Wisconsin. 

At the time of General Sedgwick's death, when 
General Russell was promoted to the command of the 
First Brigade, Sixth Corps, General Eustis was trans- 
ferred from our brigade and put in command of this 
Third Brigade, filling the vacancy caused by General 
Russell's promotion, and at the same time Colonel 
Edwards was given command of our brigade. 

During the summer of 1864, when Edwards's brigade 
was transferred from the Second to the First Division, 



356 Recollections of the Civil War 

it was consolidated with Russell's old brigade, and in 
this way it happens that the report found in the 
Official Records, vol. xxxvi., pt. i, p. 672, was signed 
by Colonel Edwards, as the commander of that brigade. 
This would account for the exceedingly brief and formal 
character of that report. It was not made by any of 
the officers who commanded the brigade at the time to 
which the report referred, to wit, May, 1864, and as a 
consequence there is on record no adequate report of 
the part taken by this famous brigade in this campaign. 
All four regiments of this brigade participated in 
Upton's assault of May 10th, and it was the same brig- 
ade that General Russell led to such complete and 
glorious victory at Rappahannock Station in November, 

1863. 

On May 12th it was put into position to the right 
and possibly to the rear of Upton's brigade, and I have 
no doubt it did, with Upton's brigade, a full share of the 
righting which devolved upon that part of the line 
during that eventful morning. But I have not been 
able to discover from the reports or regimental histories 
just what part was borne by Upton's brigade, and what 
by Russell's, any further than appears from extracts 
already quoted from the Official Records. But the 
fact that heavy losses were incurred by Russell's brigade 
during this period conclusively proves that the brigade 
was on the front line of battle, and giving and receiving 
sturdy blows. 

The losses of this brigade from May 8th to the 21st, 
as given in the Official Records (p. 143), show the 
following: Sixth Maine, 135 ; Forty-ninth Pennsylvania, 
274; One Hundred Nineteenth Pennsylvania, 145; Fifth 
Wisconsin, 149; Total, 703. 

I have not been able to find any separate statement 



Appendix 357 

of the losses borne by this brigade in Upton's assault 
of the 10th of May, but if we allow the same average 
made in the case of Upton's brigade, to wit, 100 to each 
regiment, the losses of the four regiments would amount 
to 400, which, deducted from the above total amount 
would make the loss of Russell's brigade, on May 12th, 
number 303 killed, wounded, and missing. Colonel 
Fox, in his Regimental Losses, p. 268, states that the 
Forty-ninth Pennsylvania lost 260 men in Upton's 
assault on May 10th. This would indicate that the 
proportion of losses by the brigade in the above total, 
chargeable to May 12th, should be still further reduced. 

FOURTH BRIGADE OF THE FIRST DIVISION, SIXTH CORPS, 
COMMONLY KNOWN AS SHALER's OR CROSS'S BRIGADE 

This brigade consisted of five regiments, more par- 
ticularly described as follows : Sixty-fifth, Sixty-seventh 
and One Hundred Twenty-second New York, and 
Twenty-third and Eighty-second Pennsylvania. 

General Shaler was captured on the 6th of May, in 
the battle of the Wilderness, and the command of the 
brigade was thereupon devolved upon Colonel Nelson 
Cross. 

In the report of Major H. R. Dalton, Assistant 
Adjutant-General of the First Division, Sixth Corps, 
given in O. R., xxxvi., pt. 1, p. 661, the following 
reference is made to this brigade. After speaking of 
the order of General Russell to put in his division on 
the right of the Second Corps, and after disposing of 
Upton's and Russell's brigades, the report mentions 
"the Fourth Brigade being put in at various points to 
fill up gaps along the whole line." Part of this brigade, 
under the command of Colonel Joseph E. Hamblin, was 



35 8 Recollections of the Civil War 

sent to report to General Wheaton, and General 
Wheaton refers to it in his report 1 in the following 
language : 

At the same time [10 a.m.] I sent the One Hundred Thirty- 
ninth Pennsylvania Volunteers to the right and front to 
relieve a part of the Second [Vermont] Brigade, General 
Grant, and a part of the Fourth Brigade, First Division, 
under Col. Joseph E. Hamblin, which had exhausted their 
ammunition, and the One Hundred and Second Pennsyl- 
vania Veteran Volunteers on the right and rear of them as 
a support and to guard against a flank attack. 

I have not been able to discover which regiments were 
detailed for this duty. 

In addition to what I have mentioned above from 
Major Dalton's report, he mentioned the fact that 
''the Fourth Brigade buried 480 Rebel dead in our 
front." 

The losses of the brigade from May 8th to the 21st, as 
given in the Official Records, show the following: Sixty- 
fifth New York, 97; Sixty-seventh New York, 48; One 
Hundred Twenty-second New York, 24 ; Eighty-second 
Pennsylvania (detachment) 2; Total, 171. 2 These 
figures would seem to indicate that the two Pennsyl- 
vania regiments were not engaged at the Angle. 

FIRST BRIGADE OF THE SECOND DIVISION, SIXTH CORPS, 
KNOWN AS WHEATON'S BRIGADE 

This brigade consisted of the following five regiments : 
Sixty-second New York, Ninety-third Pennsylvania, 
Ninety-eighth Pennsylvania, One Hundred and Second 
Pennsylvania, and One Hundred Thirty-ninth Pennsyl- 
vania. 

1 0. R., xxxvi., pt. 1, p. 684. * Id., p. 145. 



Appendix 359 

In General Wheaton's official report x he describes his 
movements as follows: "May 12, 6 a.m., ordered to 
the left and south a mile to support the Second Corps. 
. . . Advanced . . . within 50 yards of that part of 
the works . . . known as the Angle or Slaughter Pen." 
This is a good illustration of what was considered by 
the officers on that field as "supporting the Second 
Corps" at the Angle. Both the Bloody Angle and the 
Second Corps were from a quarter to a half mile distant 
from the part of the field where General Wheaton's 
brigade was located. He was in front of the position 
indicated on the diagram by the letters B, C, and D, 
and the Second Corps troops were at that time located 
in the lines between K and L. 

At 10 a.m. that part of the line in front of my left which 
was greatly exposed to the enemy's fire from the pits still 
held by them, gave way, and I was obliged to send up the 
Ninety-third Pennsylvania Veteran Volunteers, from my 
second line, to drive them back and retain the position. At 
the same time I sent the One Hundred and Thirty-ninth 
Pennsylvania Volunteers to the right and front to relieve 
a part of the Second [Vermont] Brigade, General Grant, 
and a part of the Fourth [Cross's] Brigade, First Division, 
under Col. Joseph E. Hamblin, which had exhausted their 
ammunition, and the One Hundred and Second Pennsyl- 
vania Veteran Volunteers on the right and rear of them as 
a support to guard against a flank attack. The One Hun- 
dred and Thirty-ninth Pennsylvania Volunteers lost severely 
in this position, . . . All the regiments of my brigade 
behaved excellently well and fought with great spirit, 
although holding ground most disadvantageously opposed 
to an enemy strongly intrenched and close in our front, the 
distance in some places being less than sixty yards . A 1 1 2 m . 
the Sixty-second New York Veteran Volunteers and two 

1 0. R., xxxvi., pt. 1, p. 684. 



360 Recollections of the Civil War 

companies of the Ninety-eighth Pennsylvania Veteran 
Volunteers (the balance of that regiment being on picket a 
mile to the right), which had been in reserve, although in 
range of musketry and artillery fire, were ordered to relieve 
a part of the Second (Vermont) Brigade, on the left of the 
Ninety- third Pennsylvania. This was accomplished in 
good order, and these regiments, including the Ninety-third 
Pennsylvania Volunteers, held this position until relieved 
by a brigade of the Fifth Corps, under Colonel Bragg, at 
3 o'clock in the afternoon. At I p.m. the One Hundred 
Thirty-ninth and One Hundred and Second Pennsylvania 
Volunteers were relieved by a portion of the brigade of 
Colonel Smith, of the Third Division of this corps. The 
balance of the brigade was relieved by a portion of the 
Fifth Corps at 3 p.m., when I retired my whole command 
to the opening east of the enemy's works (the part still 
occupied by them), where they were somewhat shielded by 
the crest in front from the enemy's fire and they could rest 
and be supplied with ammunition. At 5 p.m. I was ordered 
to build a line of rifle-pits on the crest immediately in front, 
connecting with General Russell on the left and General 
Ricketts on the right, as a reserve line for defence, which was 
nearly completed, when, at 8 p.m., I was ordered, by a cir- 
cuitous and tedious route, through the darkness, mud, rain, 
and woods, to the right of General Ricketts, which we did 
not reach until 11 p.m. 

It thus appears that General Wheaton and his 
brigade were actively engaged in fighting the enemy in 
their works on the extreme right of the Sixth Corps lines 
from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m., and during that time they were 
assisted by portions of the Fourth Brigade, First 
Division (Cross's) and of the Second (Vermont) Brigade, 
Second Division, and were finally relieved by the Fifth 
Corps. How desperate the fighting appeared to the 
commander of the Vermont Brigade will more fully 






Appendix 361 

appear when we come to the account of the part taken 
by that brigade in the battle. 

At 5 p.m. General Wheaton's command was put into 
position between Ricketts's and Russell's divisions, with 
directions to fortify, after they had been withdrawn 
from the fighting line and were resting in the rear near 
Alsop's. 

The losses of the brigade from May 8th to the 21st, as 
given in the Official Records, show the following: 
Sixty-second New York, 12 ; Ninety-third Pennsylvania, 
79; Ninety-eighth Pennsylvania, 20; One Hundred and 
Second Pennsylvania, 44; One Hundred Thirty-ninth 
Pennsylvania, 116; Total, 271, distributed among five 
regiments. x 

SECOND BRIGADE OF THE SECOND DIVISION, SIXTH CORPS, 
COMMONLY KNOWN AS THE VERMONT BRIGADE 

This brigade consisted at this time of five regiments : 
The Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Vermont 
Volunteers. These were under the command of Colo- 
nel Lewis A. Grant. Colonel Grant, in his official 
report 2 gives the following account of the part taken by 
his brigade in the battle of the Angle. 

When the Second Corps was driven back, his com- 
mand was ordered to the extreme left of the Second 
Corps which was at that time at the extreme left of the 
Army of the Potomac. The brigade was formed in two 
lines, threw out skirmishers, and fortified. From the 
Bloody Angle to the left the Federal troops held the 
Rebel works, and from the Angle to the right the enemy 
held them. General Russell commanded the division 
in the centre and was hard pressed. Colonel Grant was 
ordered to go to the support of General Russell. Accord- 

1 O. R., xxxvi., pt. I, p. 145. 2 O. R., xxxvi., pt. I, p. 702. 



362 Recollections of the Civil War 

ingly he took regiments of the rear line of the brigade to 
the Angle and was then ordered to the support of Gen- 
eral Wheaton, commanding a brigade farther to the 
right. He found General Wheaton trying to advance 
amidst thick brush, and in the face of a deadly fire 
from Rebel rifle-pits. It was impossible to carry the 
works on the right by direct attack, and the enemy were 
gaining advantage at the Angle. Leaving the Fourth 
Vermont in command of General Wheaton, he went 
back to the Angle, and Colonel Seaver came up from 
the left with the balance of the brigade, and it was all 
put into the engagement at that point except the Sixth 
Regiment, which was held in reserve in the rear of 
a swell of ground. This was the key-point to both 
armies and the fighting was of the most desperate and 
determined character. This point held, and the whole 
line of works must necessarily fall into the hands of the 
victorious party. 

Three regiments from this brigade took part in 
Upton's assault of May 10th, and according to Bene- 
dict's History of Vermont in the Civil War, their loss in 
that assault was eighty-eight men. 

The losses from May 8th to the 21st of said brigade, 
as given in the Official War Records, show the following : 
Second Vermont, 123; Third Vermont, 74; Fourth Ver- 
mont, 42 ; Fifth Vermont, 75 ; Sixth Vermont, 37 ; Total, 
351. Subtracting losses in Upton's assault, 88, will 
leave 263, killed, wounded, and missing, as the number 
from the brigade chargeable against the fight of the 12th 
of May. 

THIRD BRIGADE OF THE SECOND DIVISION, SIXTH CORPS, 
COMMONLY KNOWN AS BIDWELL'S BRIGADE 

This brigade consisted of the five following regiments : 



Appendix 363 

The Seventh Maine, Forty-third New York, Forty- 
ninth New York, Seventy-seventh New York, and 
Sixty-first Pennsylvania. 

Colonel Bidwell succeeded General Neill in command 
of the brigade when General Neill was promoted to the 
command of the division at the time of General Sedg- 
wick's death. 

Colonel Bidwell's report l gives the following account 
of the part taken by his brigade in the battle : 

On the morning of the 12 th we were moved to the rear of 
the position just captured by General Hancock, and ordered 
to support a brigade of this division, commanded by Colonel 
Edwards, at the Angle. The brigade was deployed in line 
and moved to this point, and two of the regiments, the 
Forty-ninth and Seventy-seventh New York, charged the 
Angle and took possession of the crest commanding it, 
which they held until relieved. The Forty- third New York, 
Sixty-first Pennsylvania Volunteers, and Seventh Maine 
were deployed on the right of this position, supporting 
General Upton's brigade. The first line losing heavily and 
closing to the left caused a vacancy, which these three 
regiments moved into and where they remained two hours, 
delivering a musketry fire, and were relieved and moved to 
the left to the support of a brigade of the Second Corps. 
The troops which relieved the Forty-ninth and Seventy- 
seventh New York were driven back, and those two regi- 
ments, with a portion of the Vermont Brigade, formed and 
retook the crest. About dark the whole line was withdrawn 
about 300 yards and went into bivouac for. the night. 

My understanding is that this brigade in the early 
morning, from 6 to 9.30 o'clock, occupied the exterior 
line of the enemy's earthworks, between G and D on 
the diagram, but owing to the enfilading fire was unable 

1 O. R., xxxvi., pt. 1, p. 720. 



364 



Recollections of the Civil War 



to retain such possession, meeting the same fate that 
befell the Vermont Brigade and the New Jersey Brigade 
in their attempts to hold that part of the enemy's 
exterior line, and a portion of the brigade was then put 
into position in the line of the crest occupied by Upton's 
brigade. Subsequently a portion of the Forty-ninth 
and Seventy-seventh New York joined with the Ver- 
mont Brigade in its attempt to capture the enemy's 
works, in which attempt they failed. The brigade was 
actively engaged most of the time between 6 in the 
morning and 8 in the evening. 

Two regiments from this brigade participated in 
Upton's assault on the 10th of May and bore their 
proportionate share of the losses of that engagement. 
The average of such losses to each regiment I have esti- 
mated at 100, making the loss of the brigade on that 
occasion 200. 

The losses from May 8th to the 21st of this brigade, as 
given in the Official War Records, show the following : 
Seventh Maine, 126; Forty-third New.York, 51 ; Forty- 
ninth New York, 131; Seventy-seventh New York, 107; 
Sixty-first Pennsylvania, 139; Total, 554, or, after de- 
ducting 200 for Upton's charge, there still remained a 
loss of 354 to be distributed among the five regiments. 



FOURTH BRIGADE OF THE SECOND DIVISION, SIXTH CORPS, 

COMMONLY KNOWN AS EUSTIS'S OR EDWARDS'S 

BRIGADE 

This brigade consisted of four regiments, the Seventh, 
Tenth, and Thirty-seventh Massachusetts, and the 
Second Rhode Island. 

The Seventh was detailed to do picket duty in front 
of the Sixth Corps line on the 12 th of May, and was not 
actively engaged in the battle at the Bloody Angle. 



Appendix 365 

The three other regiments above mentioned numbered 
about 900 men present for duty. The brigade was com- 
manded by Brigadier-General Henry L. Eustis until 
May 9th, when General Eustis was transferred to the 
command of the Third Brigade, First Division, Sixth 
Corps, and Colonel Edwards succeeded him in command 
of the Fourth Brigade, Second Division. The parts 
taken by the regiments of this brigade at the Salient 
have already been described. 

The losses from May 8th to 21st of these three regi- 
ments, as given in the Official Records, show the fol- 
lowing: Tenth Massachusetts, 92; Thirty-seventh 
Massachusetts, 91 ; Second Rhode Island, 53 5 Total, 236. 
Some of this loss was incurred by these regiments in 
an attempt which the Sixth and Second Corps made to 
surprise and capture a portion of the Spottsylvania 
works at the base of the Salient on the morning of May 
1 8th, which attempt was unsuccessful and was aban- 
doned as soon as it was found that the enemy were in 
the works in full force. But I can safely say that the 
loss of the three regiments who participated in the 
battle of the Angle on May 12th exceeded 200 in num- 
ber, to be distributed among the three regiments. 

By Lieutenant-Colonel Montague's wounds the com- 
mand of the regiment was devolved upon Captain 
Donnelly. 

FIRST BRIGADE OF THE THIRD DIVISION, SIXTH ARMY 

CORPS 

This brigade was composed of five regiments as 
follows- Tenth Vermont, One Hundred and Sixth and 
One Hundred and Fifty-first New York, Fourteenth 
New Jersey, Eighty-seventh Pennsylvania, and was 
commanded by Brigadier-General William H. Morns. 



366 Recollections of the Civil War 

As already mentioned, the Third Division was left in 
charge of the Sixth Corps works in the vicinity of the 
Alsop house, when the First and Second were ordered 
to go to the assistance of the Second Corps, and they so 
remained until about 10 o'clock of the morning of May 
1 2th, when the Third Division was ordered to join the 
rest of the corps in the vicinity of the Angle. 

I think this brigade was posted during the day in the 
rear of Upton's line of battle, and in the afternoon was 
with the Second Division returned to the vicinity of the 
Alsop house, where it was joined by Wheaton's brig- 
ade and the First Division of the Sixth Corps as before 
related. J 

The losses from May 8th to the 2ist of this brigade, 
as given in the Official Records, show the following: 
Tenth Vermont, 24 ; One Hundred and Sixth New York, 
38; One Hundred and Fifty-first New York, 23; Four- 
teenth New Jersey, 28; Eighty-seventh Pennsylvania, 
35 ; Total loss, 148. 

What portion of this loss, if any, was incurred through 
participation in the other engagements in and about 
Spottsylvania I am unable to state. 

SECOND BRIGADE OF THE THIRD DIVISION, SIXTH CORPS 

This brigade was composed of six regiments as fol- 
lows: Sixty-seventh and One Hundred Thirty-eighth 
Pennsylvania, Sixth Maryland, One hundred Tenth 
and One Hundred Twenty-second and One hundred 
Twenty- sixth Ohio. 

It was commanded successively in this campaign by 
Colonel Benjamin F. Smith and by Colonel J. W. Kei- 
fer, afterwards Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

Colonel Keifer in his official report 2 states as follows: 

1 See O. R., xxxvi., pt. 1, p. 725. 2 O. R., xxxvi., pt. 1, p.733. 



Appendix 367 

" On the 1 2 th the brigade with the division was formed 
one mile to the left, 1 about 11 a.m., in support of the 
First and Second Divisions, Sixth Army Corps, but was 
not heavily engaged. ' ' At page 749 of the same volume, 
the commander of the One Hundred Twenty-sixth Ohio 
reports that his "regiment was detached from the divi- 
sion and sent to support Brigadier-General Wheaton's 
brigade of the Second Division, Sixth Army Corps." It 
was marched to the front line and engaged the enemy. 
Fifty rounds of ammunition were exhausted before the 
regiment was withdrawn. 

The report of Colonel Otho H. Brinkley of the One 
Hundred Tenth Ohio, 2 states: 

On the 1 2th, although not actually engaged, we were 
constantly manoeuvring, and during the whole of the day 
and until 10 o'clock at night were exposed to a destructive 
fire of musketry and artillery. During the early part of the 
day we occupied a position between the enemy's artillery 
and our own, and being protected by light earthworks but 
little harm was done us. 

The losses from May 8th to the 21st of the brigade, as 
given in the Official Records, show the following : Sixty- 
seventh Pennsylvania, 15; One Hundred Thirty-eighth 
Pennsylvania, 12; Sixth Maryland, 6; One Hundred 
Tenth Ohio, 34; One Hundred Twenty-second Ohio, 
12; One Hundred Twenty-sixth Ohio, 78; Total, 157. 

There were only two brigades in the Third Division 
of the Sixth Corps at this time. 

1 Of their place in the Sixth Corps lines. 2 Id., p. 742. 















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INDEX 



Allen, Col., of 5th Wisconsin, 339 

Allen, Rev. F. B., 339 

Anderson's division, 85,107 

Amherst, excitement at, 15; Gov. 
Andrew at, 24; Class Day, 231 ; 
Alumni Dinner, 316 

Andrew, Gov., 8; at Amherst, 24; 
letter from Gen. Newton to, 89 

Alexandria occupied by Feder- 
als, 15 

Antietam, Battle of, 39 

Aiken House, 316 

Arlington occupied by Feder- 
als, 15 

Anti-Racetrack Ass'n, vm 

Appomattox River, crossing at, 
219; Appomattox, campaign of, 

34° 

Aquia Creek Landing, 59 

Austin's Jurisprudence, 132 

Alsop's, 163, 164 

Army of Potomac, the, 39 103, 
I54.i55.i58,i59,i65,i97,200, 
202, 213; review in Washington, 

34 1 
Army of No. Virginia, 158, 200 
Army Corps: First, 62, 65, 99- 
100, 103, 105, 138; Second, 45, 
81, 99, 102, 112, 126, 138, 141, 
143, 147- 148, 154, 156, 163, 165, 
170, 178, 182, 190, 197, 204, 
208, 218, 226, 232; Third, 65, 
82,99, 104, 127, 138; Fourth, 45; 
Fifth, 77, 99, 102, 123, 138, 142, 
146, 154, 163, 167, 170, 193, 203, 
218, 226, 290, 316, 327, 330, 344, 
346; Sixth, 74, 99, "I, I2 4- 
135, 138,142, I5L 155. 161,163, 
169, 177,181,190, 194,197,203, 
207, 213, 222, 237, 241 , 247, 249, 
261 , 276, 284, 295, 31 i,3H, 322: 
332, 341. 349, .352. 355- 358 
361, 364, 365; Eighth, 155, 278 
286, 296; Ninth, 77, 138, 163 



203, 212, 219, 226, 290, 333. 338J 
Tenth, 228; Eleventh, 80, 99. 
101, 102, 157, 233; Twelfth, 82, 
99, 103, 107, 157; Eighteenth, 
164, 210, 219, 221, 224, 226, 228; 
Nineteenth, 155, 241, 248, 275, 
277, 283, 296 

Ayres's Regulars, 106 

Ashby's Gap, 55 

Bradford, Wm., Governor of Ply- 
mouth, v 
Brady Photographs Meade and 

Staff, 227 
Bragg, Col., n, 360 
Bailey's house, Mrs., 226 
Blair, F. P., 13 
Ball's Bluff, Battle of, 19 
Banks's Ford, 87 
Bardwell, Charley, 290, 293; death 

of, 278 
Barlow, Gen., 171 
Barnesville, 95 
Barryville, 253 
Bassett, Bt. Brig.-Gen., 341 
Batchelder's map, 107 
Bartlett, Col. W. F., 147 
Battery No. 10., 338 
Baxter's Brigade, 145 
Bermuda Hundred, 219 
Beattie, Capt., 233 
Beauregard, Gen., 11; commands 

No. C. and So. Va., 224 
Beck, Mrs., 291 
Beechers, the, 6 
Beecher's sermons, 59 
Belle Plain, 61 . 

Benedict's Vermont in the Lvoil 

War, 353, 362 
Berdan's Sharpshooters, 149 
Berkshire Hotel, Tyler ill at, 29 
Berlin, Crossing at, III 
Bid well's brigade, 179. 362 
Briggs, Gen. H. L., 37, 44 

369' 



37o 



Index 



Binny, Horace, Capt., 125; Binny's 

joke, 231 
Brinkley, Col. O. H., 367 
Birney, Gen., 148, 171 
Birnie, Mr., 59 
Bristoe Station, Battle of, 120 
Boardman, Elijah, grandfather 

of Mrs. Tyler, ix 
Brock Road, 154, 159, 161, 163, 

164, 177, 197 
Bloody Angle, the, 179, 182, 185, 

190, 193, 198, 203, 349, 352, 

36i 
Brown House, 170, 171 
Borden's Condensed Milk, 132 
Brooke, Gen., checks advance, 

86; joins Howe, 86; at Spott- 

sylvania, 181 ; at Cold Harbor, 

211 
Botts, John Minor, 124, 135 
Brown, Col. H. W., 349 
Brown, John, 42 
Brown, Col. J. N., commands 

brigade, 185; address by, 185 
Brown, Col. W. H., 44; succeeds 

Devens, 80 
Bowen's History of the 37th Mass. 

Vols., 150, 251, 325, 342 
Bowers, T. S., Ass't Adj. Gen., 

321 
Boydton Plank Road, 224 
Bruce, G. A., 170 
Buchanan, President, 6 
Buford at Gettysburg, 101 
Bull Run, Battle of, 15; Second 

Battle of, 31 
Burnham, Col., Light Division, 

84 

Burnside, Gen., goes to No. Caro- 
lina, 20; commands army, 56; 
relieved of command, 72; " Mud 
Campaign," 80; 

Butler's battery, 90 

Butler, Gen., 219 

Caldwell, Gen., 69, 76, 132 
Calker's Station, halt at, 207 
Chambersburg, 96; reported 

burned, 257 
Campbell, Lives of Chief Justices, 

<vi 
Campbell, Col., 351 
Camp Briggs at Pittsfield, 27 
Camp Chase, 36 
Camp Distribution, 317 
Camp Misery on Smoky Hill, 62 



Camp Warren Station, 319 

Crampton's Pass, 38 

Chancellorsville, 141, 163, 164, 
200 

Chantilly, Battle of, 31, 95, 121 

Clark, Col. W. S., 8; commander 
of 2 1 st Mass., 18; reported 
killed, 32 

Charles City C.-H., halt at, 217 

Charlottesville, 240, 253 

Cashtown, hill at, 100 

Catlett's Station, 58 

Catoctin Mountains, 40 

Chattanooga, 137 

Canby, Gen. E. R. S., 114 

Chase, Secretary, 73 

Casey, Gen., 37 

Crawford's charge, 106; Craw- 
ford's division, 316 

Cedar Creek, 155 

Cemetery Ridge, 84, 101 

Centreville, 95 

Chesterfield Bridge, 208 

Cherry Run, 49 

Chickahominy River, 216 

Christian Commission, 339 

City Point, Va., 218; Grant at, 

334 
Choate, 6 

Crocker, F. B., death of, 232 
Columbus and Hocking Coal and 

Iron Co., viii 
Cold Harbor, 201 
Compton's Pass, 53 
Cromwell, Oliver, vi 
Confederacy, dreams of success, 

159 

Confederate Congress, 14; Con- 
federate deserters, 321 ; Con- 
federate government, 7 

Crook, Gen., at Shenandoah, 248; 
at Winchester, 253; at Fisher's 
Hill, 286 

Cross's brigade, 357 

Cooke, Rev. Mr., 68 

Cooper shop, feast at, 342 

Couch, Gen., 39 

Culpeper, 96 

Culp's Hill, 101 

Cumberland Coal and Iron Co., 
viii 

Custer, Gen., and his cavalry, 136; 
defeats Rosser, 295; captures 
by, 297 

Cutler's division, 193, 203 

Cutter, Mr., 332 



Index 



37i 



Draft in New York, 112 

Dahlgren, Col., 135 

Dalton, H. R., Adj. -Gen., report 
by, 281; on 4th brigade, 357 

Dranesville, 95 

Danville Railroad, 340 

Davis, J., calls for volunteers, 14; 
advised by Lee, 22 

Davis, Major, 285 

Dawes, Senator H. L., 342 

Deep Run, 64 

Deserters, Confederate, 321 

Devens, Gen., 39, 45; visited 
by Edwards and Tyler, 61 ; 
Monument to, 70; commands 
division, 80 ; at Cold.Harbor, 21 1 ; 

Devens and Hoar, 19 

Devil's Den, the, 104; Devil's 
Garden, 104 

Drew, Capt., 285 

Dickinson, M. F., 135; letters 
to, 230, 232, 264, 271, 292, 294 

Donnelly, Capt., 365 

Doubleday, Gen. A., 317 

Doubleday's History of Chancel- 
lor sville and Gettysburg, 106 

Downsville, 46 

Dumfries, march to, 95 

Ewald, Lt.-Gen., capture of, 345 

Edwards, Rev. J., vi 

Edwards, Col. Oliver, at Pitts- 
field, 28; prostrated by heat, 
108; at N. Y. draft, 115; at 
Wilderness, 146; faith in, 160; 
commands brigade, 167; at 
Spottsylvania, 179; commands 
3rd brigade, 237 ; at Winchester, 
279; clearing battlefield, 284; 
prisoners, 285; returns from 
front, 286; commands Provis- 
ional District, 315; made Brig.- 
General, 318; relieved, 319; 
commands regiment, 335; 
praises 37th Mass., 339; bri- 
gade, 364 

Edwards, My Recollections of the 
Civil War, 150 

Edwards Ferry, 95 

Edwards, Timothy, vi 

Early, Gen.,escapes,84; erects fort, 
1 22; at Cedar Creek, 1 55; at Shen- 
andoah, 236; escapes Union 
Army, 241 ; reinforced .by Ker- 
shaw, 270; attacked by Sheridan, 
274; report, 274; reinforced by 



Gordon, 276; at Fisher's Hill, 
284, 296 

Evarts, Southmayd & Choate, 
vii 

Ewell, Gen., at Harrisburg, 98; 
attacks Warren, 142; Ewell 's 
corps, 122 

Eleven Months in a Rebel Prison , 
149 

Everett, 6 

Emmitsburg Road, 104 

Ellsworth, Major, killed at Alex- 
andria, 15 

Eustis, Gen. H. L., commands 
brigade, 106; in 4th brigade, 
138; succeeds Russell, 167; suc- 
ceeded by Edwards, 365 

Ely's Ford, 129, 141 

Fair Oaks, Battle o , 22 

Fairfax Court-House, 38 

Fairfax Station, 95, 121 

Franklin's Corps, 42, 45, 63 

Franklin's Crossing, 62 

Farragut, Admiral, captures Mo- 
bile Bay, 265 

Frederick, Md., 40 

Fredericksburg, Battle of, 57; 
Sedgwick at, 83; capture by 
Sixth Corps, 85 

Fredericksburg Road, 207 

French, Gen., no 

First N. J. Brigade, 349 

Fisher's Hill, Sheridan at, 286; 
Fort Fisher, work on, 325 

Five Forks, victory at, 344 

Fort Darling, gunboats at, 323 

Fort Fisher, 290 

Forge at Jones Bridge, 216 

Fort Albany, 36 

Fort Hamilton, 37th Mass. at, 116 

Fortress Monroe, 317 

Fort Sumter, surrender of, 7; 
evacuated, 333 

Fort Stevens, 243; Edwards at, 
322 

Fort Stedman, 229, 338 

Fort Wadsworth, 316; visited by 
Lincoln, 338 

Fort Welch, 344 

Foster's New Jersey and the Re- 
bellion, 351 

Four Years in the Saddle, by 
Gilmore, 329 

Fourteenth Georgia, prisoners cap- 
tured, 350 



372 



Index 



Fox, Regimental Losses, 45, 151, 

213. 357 
Fugitive Slave Bill, 6 
Funkstown, in 

Gainesville, 121 

Garrison, 6 

Graves, Sergeant, 146 

Grant, Col. L. A., 361 

Grant, Gen. U. S., praise of, 23; 
at Chattanooga, 126; made 
Lieut.-General, 137; at Wilder- 
ness, 82, 141; victories in the 
West, 159; at Spottsylvania, 
170; puzzles Gen. Lee, 200; 
orders attack, 212; exonerates 
Hancock, 221 ; Memoirs quoted, 
22 5> 337; at Petersburg, 240; 
unites forces, 242; nominates 
Franklin and Meade, 254; at 
Richmond, 319; on deserters, 
320; at Cape Fear, 326; extra 
vigilance of, 334 

Gayle house, 207 

Germanna Ford, 142 

Getty, Gen. G. W., commands 
2d Division, 138; supports 
Hancock, 142; at Wilderness, 
151; om Brock Road, 161; 
wounded, 206; commands di- 
vision, 234; commands Sixth 
Corps, 248 

Gettysburg, Battle of, 158, 159; 
Lee at, 98 

Gibbon, Gen., 171, 212, 233 

Griffin, Gen., 145, 208 

Gilliss's battery, 352 

Gilmore, Maj. H., capture of, 328 

Goodrich, Lt.-Col., resigns, 69 

Gordon, Gen., surprises Shaler and 
Seymour, 155; at "Bloody 
Angle," 183; Reminiscences of 
the Civil War by, 183; reinforces 
Early, 276; attack at Fort Sted- 
man, 338 

Gordonsville, 142, 240, 253 

Gosport Navy Yard partially 
destroyed, 13 

Grover, Brig.-Gen., 283 

Guinea Station, 207 

Hackett, Dr., 287 
Halifax Road, 316 
Halleck, Gen., 115, 241, 315 
Haines's History of the 15th N. J. 
Regt., 197, 350 



Hamblin, Gen., 242; commands 
Edwards's brigade, 325 

Hamblin, Col. J. E., 357 

Hancock, Gen., stops Hill's ad- 
vance, 142; Tyler reports to, 
148; at Wilderness, 153; rescues 
Barlow, 167; at the Salient, 178; 
at Bloody Angle, 181 ; demands 
an investigation, 220; exoner- 
ated, 221 ; commands 3d brigade, 

237 

Hancock, camp at, 49 

Hanovertown, 209 

Hardee, Gen., 11 

Hare House, 229 

Harlow, Lt.-Col., 89 

Harper's Ferry, 42, 47 

Harris, Mrs., 291 

Harrisburg, 96 

Harrison's Creek, 221 

Harris, Lieut., 131 

Harvard College, 6 

Hatcher's Run, raid at, 328, 343 

Haversack's brigade, 230 

Hawkins, Anthony, vi 

Haw's shop, 209 

Hays, Brig.-Gen. Alexander, 145 

Hazel Run, 64 

Hexamer's battery, 90 

Hill, Henry, merchant of Am- 
herst, 26 

Hill, Gen., Southern confidence 
in, 158; driven back by Sixth 
Corps, 207; defeated at Wil- 
liamsburg, 237; wounded, 201 

Hill's Corps, 233, 322, 339 

Hinckley, Thos., Gov. of Ply- 
mouth, v 

Hitchcock, Dr., 251 

Hood's Mill, 98 

Hooker, Gen., 64; commands 
army, 74 ; visited by Lincoln, 79 ; 
at Chancellorsville, 81 ; calls 
Sedgwick, 82; attacks Lee, 83; 
at United States Ford, 91; 
relieved of command, 95 

Hooker, Rev. Thos., v 

Hopkins, Capt., on picket duty, 
336 

Hopkins, President, 291 

Hopkins's Mill, 216 

Houghton, classmate, 135 

Howe, Gen., 85; commands Sigel's 
forces, 248 

Humphrey, Dr., President of Am- 
herst, 30 



Index 



373 



Humphrey, Gen., Virginia Cam- 
paign of '64 and '65 ,193; hard 
pressed, 327 

Hunter, Gen., succeeds Sigel, 240; 
joins Getty, 248; at Snicker's 
Gap, 248; succeeded by Sheri- 
dan, 262 

Huntington, Dr. F. D., Bishop 
of Central N. Y., 30 

Hutchinson, Capt., 125 

Ironclads, Union, 323 

Jackson, Gen., Life and Letters, 207 

Jackson, Gen. Stonewall, at Uni- 
ted States Ford, 82; faith in, 
1 58 ; death of, 207 

Jacob's Mill Ford, 126 

James River Canal, 240 

Jerusalem Plank-Road, 223, 231 

Jericho Ford, Warren crosses, 208 

Johnson, Reverdy, 14 

Johnston, Gen., wounded, 22; 
surprises Gen. Shaler, 155; com- 
mands Confederates, 337 

Johns, Col., at Marye's Heights, 
84; wounded, 89 

Jones Bridge, 216 

Jordan house, the, 226 

Kam, Col., 42 
Keedysville, 52 
Kellogg, Albert, 331 
Kellogg, E. H., 342 
Kelly's Ford, 123 
Keifer, Col. J. W., 366 
Kershaw's brigade, 107 
Kilpatrick, Gen., 135 
King George's County Court- 
House, 61 

Landrum House, 170, 203, 352 

Lee. Brig-Gen. C, capture of, 345 

Lee, Gen. Fitzhugh, 281 

Lee, Col. R., of 20th Mass. Vols., 
27 

Lee, Gen. R. E., on secession, 13; 
commands army, 22; summons 
Jackson, 23; near Washington, 
31; prepares to invade, 96; at 
Rappahannock, 96; attack at 
Gettysburg, 104; crosses Poto- 
mac, in; at Wilderness, 140; 
confidence in, 158; obstructs 
progress, 163; at the Salient, 
1 82 ; at Spottsylvania, 200 ; mys- 



tified by Grant, 219; alarm at 
desertions, 322; plans to evacu- 
ate, 335 ; losses at Fort Stedman, 
338; at Fort Welch, 345 

Lee, R. E., Chapter of the Daugh- 
ters of the Confederacy, 185 

Leesburg, 248 

Lincoln, Abraham, President, 6; 
election of, 7; inaugurated, 7; 
calls for volunteers, 14; reviews 
army, 79; calls for 100,000 men, 
96; enforces draft, 113; Thanks- 
giving day, 117; at Fort 
Stevens, 243; visit to, 317; at 
Fort Wadsworth, 338 

Lincoln, Capt. R. P., 77, 230, 251, 
330; on leave, 311; mustered 
Major, 314; wounded, 195 

Little Round Top, 101, 103 

Lizzie Baker, steamer, 315 

Long, Capt. W. H., 206 

Long's Memoirs of R. E. Lee, 141 , 
201 

Long, Maj., 233 

Long Bridge, 341 

Longstreet, Gen., corps, 96; at 
Fayetteville, 99; march from 
Gordonsville, 154; backs Lee, 
158; wounded, 201 

Love, Dr., 290 

Loyal Legion, N. Y. Command- 
ery, ix 

Lyman, Luke, Col., 27th Mass. 
Vols., 18 

Lynchburg, 240 

McCausland, Gen., attacked by 

Averell, 264 
Macomber, classmate, 249 
McCool house, 175 
McHugh, James, 36, 47 
McLaughlen, Col., 353 
McLaws's division, 85 
Madison Court-House, 136 
Manross, Dr., killed at Antietam, 

39 

Manassas, Battle of, 31, 95 

Manassas Plain, 57 

Martindale's division, 211, 232 

Marye's Heights, 83; Rebels open 
fire, 84; capture of, 84 

Mason, Maj. -Gen. John, v 

Massachusetts Institute of Tech- 
nology, 19 

Mather, Magnolia, vi 

Maryland, ferry-boat, 35 



374 



Index 



Massachusetts Military Historical 
Society, 156, 194, 212 

Manchester, Sixth Corps at, 102 

Meade, Gen., succeeds Hooker, 
95; commands army, 98, no; 
at the Rapidan 122; report 
of, 144; reconnoitres, 209; at 
Petersburg, 316; capture of 
Young, 321; at Fort Wads- 
worth, 338 

Melyn, C, Patroon of Staten Is- 
land, vi 

McClellan, Gen. G. B., commands 
army, 16; transfers army, 21; 
opposed by Confederates, 21; 
retreat, 22; relieved of com- 
mand, 56 

Merrill, W. F., 257 

Merritt, Gen., at Strasburg, 284; 
defeats Rosser, 295 

Metcalf, Lieut., 352 

Mexican War, 10 

Middle Military Division, 326 

Milford Point Station, 207 

Milroy's army, 96 

Mine Run Campaign, 127 

Monocacy Creek, 241, 255 

Montague, Lt.-Col., prostrated by 
heat, 108; commands 37th 
Mass., 167; commands brigade, 
271; bre vetted Colonel, 318; 
at Camp Warren, 325 ; at Wash- 
ington 331 ; retires, 335 

Moorfield, 328 

Morse, Chaplain, fits up chapel, 
326 

Morson, Dr., 93 

Mosby, Col., attack by, 250; 
search for, 306, 331 

Morris, Brig-Gen. W. H., 365 

Mott's division, 145, 156, 168, 
171; Tammany Brigade, 179, 
190 

McDowell, Gen., 158 

Muhlenberg Hospital, viii 

Music Hall Ass'n, viii 

Myer's Hill, 354 

My Recollections of the Civil War, 
150 

Napier's Peninsular War, 328 

Negroes abused in N. Y., 114 

Neill, Gen. T. H., assists Warren, 

142; in Mexican War, 206; in 

2d Division, 225; ordered to 

1 8th Corps, 232; at Winchester, 



286; succeeded by Bid well, 363 
Nelson's Ford, 209 
Nevin, Col., succeeds Wheaton, 

105 

New Baltimore, camp at, 57 

Newbern, Battle of, 20 

New Cold Harbor, 211 

Newmarket, 95 

Newton, Gen., 67; letter to Gov. 

Andrews, 89; commands 1st 

Corps, 105 
New England, sentiment against 

slavery in, 6 
N. J. Brigade, 192, 197, 198 
N. J. Society, viii 
N. J. Historical Society, viii 
N. Y. Independent, 59 
N. Y. State Bar Association, viii 
North Anna River, 201, 205 
North Carolina wishes to rejoin 

the Union, 332 

Occoquan, the, 95 

Orange & Alexandria R.R., 140 

Orange Court-House, 128 

Orange Plank Road, 142, 159, 160 

O'Bannan, Mrs., house at Win- 
chester, 328 

Organized Aid Ass'n of Plainneld, 
viii 

Ord's Army of the James, 346 

Oregon, steamer, 33 

Ogden, Robert, vi 

Owen, Gen. J. T., 148 

Old Cold Harbor, 210; departure 
from, 216 

Onondaga, gunboat, 323 

Offutt's Cross-Roads, 246 

Plainfield Public Library, viii 

Pamunkey River, 208 

Parke, Gen., commands Army of 

Potomac, 333; captures Fort 

Stedman, 338 
Parke's Station on Military Road, 

315 
Parker, Major, 89 
Parker's store, 143 
Parker, Theodore, 6 
Peach Orchard, the, 104 
Pleasonton, Gen., 47 
Pennsylvania Bucktails, 42 
Penrose, Col., at Spottsylvania, 

350 
Peril, propeller, 242 
Presbyterian Hospital, ix 






Index 



375 



Petersville, 256 

Petersburg, 230, 240, 242, 272, 

340; march to, 218; episode at, 

322 
Phillips, 6 
Pollock's mill, 69 
Poolesville, 95, 247 
Polecat River, crossing at, 208 
Poplar Grove Church, 325 
Photographic History of the Civil 

War, 227 
Potomac frozen over, 324 
Provisional District, Col. Edwards 

commands, 315 
Pickett's charge, 109 
Pierpont, Rev. Jas., vi 
Pipe Creek, defense at, 98 
Phi Beta Kappa Society, vii 
Psi Upsilon Fraternity, vii 
Purcellville, 249 

Ramseur, Gen., 189, 275 

Rappahannock, 123, 140, 200; 
charge at, 237; Rappahannock 
Station, 356 

Readville, camp at, 342 

Ream's Station, 235 

Rebel gunboat affair, 323 

Rectortown, 11 1 

Regiments: 1st Conn., 341; 20th 
Indiana, 115; 5th Maine, 277, 
352; 6th Maine, 237, 355; 7th 
Maine, 363; 6th Maryland, 
366; 1st Mass., 115; 6th Mass., 
8, 13; 7th Mass., 44, 84, 123, 
x 79> 237, 364; 8th Mass., 14; 
10th Mass., 28, 31, 37, 41, 123, 
125, 179, 194, 228, 237, 364; 
15th Mass., 19; 20th Mass., 19, 
147, 170, 171, 177; 21st Mass., 
18, 20; 27th Mass., 18, 20; 32d 
Mass., 27; 33d Mass., 27; 34th 
Mass., 27, 296; 35th Mass., 27; 
36th Mass., 26, 27, 60; 37th 
Mass., 28, 37, 39, 40, 42, 44, 46, 
60, 66,76,84, 103, 109, 115, 123, 
139. I47> 154. 159. 167, 179, 192, 
204, 226, 277, 283, 289, 364; 
57th Mass., 147; 1st N. J., 197, 
349, 351; 2d N. J., 349, 351; 
3d N. J., 349, 351; 4th N. J., 349, 
351; 10th N. J., 349, 351; 14th 
N. J., 349, 351 ; 15th N. J., 248, 
349. 35i ; 7th N. Y., 14, 97; 36th 
N. Y., 44, 80, 84; 42d N. Y., 
19; 43d N. Y., 84, 237, 363; 



49th N. Y., 363; 62d N. Y., 358; 
65th N.Y., 357; 66th N.Y., 357; 
77th N. Y., 180, 363; 106th 
N. Y., 365; 121st N. Y., 352; 
I22d N. Y., 357; 151st N. Y., 
365; 50th N. Y. Engineers, 325; 
110th Ohio, 366; I22d Ohio, 
366; 126th Ohio, 366; 23d 
Perm., 237, 271, 357; 49th 
Penn., 125, 237, 341, 355; 61st 
Penn., 84, 363; 67th Penn., 
366; 82d Penn., 237, 341, 357; 
87th Penn., 365; 93d Penn., 
358 ;95thPenn., 352 :96th Penn., 
352; 98th Penn., 358; I02d 
Penn., 358; 119th Penn., 237, 
355; 138th Penn., 366; 139th 
Penn., 358; 148th Penn., 238; 2d 
R. I., 44, 63, 123, 179, 194, 
214, 331, 341 ; 2d Vermont, 361 ; 
3d Vermont, 361 ; 4th Vermont, 
2 33> 361; 5th Vermont, 361; 
6th Vermont, 361; 10th Ver- 
mont, 365; nth Vermont, 246; 
5th Wisconsin, 115, 237, 238, 
339- 342, 355; 5th U. S. Artil- 
lery, 352 
Relay House, 40 
Reno, Gen., killed, 53 
Review of Reviews Co., 227 
Reynolds, Gen., at Marsh Creek, 

100; death of, 105 
Richmond & Fredericksburg R.R., 

140 
Richmond & York R.R., 216 
Richmond, advance on, 201, 213; 
Grant at, 319; evacuation of, 

345 
Ricketts, Capt., Artillery, 144 
Ricketts's division, Gen., 211, 229 
Robertson's River, 136 
Robertson's Tavern, 126 
Robinson, Capt., 300, 319 
Rock Creek, 103 
Rodes, Gen., 275, 289 
Rhodes's History, quoted, 7 
Rhodes, Lt.-Col., 341 
Rohrersville, 52 
Rosser, Gen., defeated by Custer, 

295 

Rossendale-Reddaway Belting and 
Hose Co., viii 

Round Top, 101 

Royal Charter of Conn., v 

Russell, Gen. D. A., at Fredericks- 
burg, 90; commands 1st Divi- 



376 



Index 



Russell, Gen. D. A. — Continued 
sion, 166; assaults by, 192, 198; 
supports Griffin, 208; at Rap- 
pahannock, 237; death of, 277 

Russell's brigade, 355 

Sailor's Creek, 345 

Shaler, Gen., at Gettysburg, 107; 
surprised by Gordon, 155; cap- 
ture of, 357 

Salient,' the, 164, 170, 173, 176, 180, 
190, 195.201,237,365 

Sandy Hook, 42 

Stafford Court-House, 58, 94 

Sharpsburg, 40, 43 

St. John, Elizabeth, vi 

Salem, 111; Salem Heights, 85, 

139 

Scan, Miss Kitty, 268 

Sanitary and Christian Commis- 
sions, 238 

Swan, Col., at Battle of Wilder- 
ness, 156 

Strasburg, Gen. Early at, 253 

Stanton, Secretary, 254 

Shaw, W. H., War Diary, 243 

Steams, Frazer, Adjutant, 18; 
killed at Newbern, 20 

Stearns, Wm. F., gifts to volun- 
teers, 25 

Stebbins, Rev. C, contributes 
introductions, 222 

Spear, Col., at Marye's Heights, 
84 

Seaver, Col., 84 

Second Army Corps, Warren's 
History of, 105 

Second Bull Run, 31 

Sedgwick, Gen., commands Sixth 
Corps, 74; at Marye's Heights, 
84; at Banks's Ford, 87; in win- 
ter quarters, 124; stops rout, 1 56; 
takes command, 164; death of, 
165; concerning, 197; com- 
mands 3d brigade, 355 

Seminary Ridge, 101 

Shenandoah Valley, 111,241; cam- 
paign of, 343 

Shepard, Capt., of class of i860, 71 

Shepard, Dr., 134 

Shepard, Maj., among missing, 

331 

Stephenson's depot, 315 

Sheridan, Gen., holds Old Cold 
Harbor, 210; appointed tempor- 
ary command, 254; at Washing- 



ton, 254; calls on President, 2 54 ; 
commands Middle Military 
Dep't., 262; takes command, 
263; retreat at Cedar Creek, 270; 
visited by Lieut. -General, 274; 
warned by Grant, 275; fought 
Rebel army, 2 76 ; moves up Val- 
ley, 284; battle at Fisher's Hill, 
284; drives Early from camp, 
286; retreat down Valley, 292; 
at Cedar Creek, 296; at head- 
quarters, 296; starts for the 
front, 297; recaptures prison- 
ers and guns, 297; captures 
Maj. Gilmore, 328; cavalry, 
340; victory at Five Forks, 

344 
Sheridan's Memoirs quoted, 274, 

329 

Sherman, Gen., 312 

Stevens, Capt. H., 206, 344 

"Seven Days' Fight," the, 23 

Seven Pines, Battle of, 22 

Seymour, Lieut. J., vi 

Seymour, Horatio, Governor of 
New York, 112 

Seymour, Gen., 155 

Snicker's Gap, 249 

Snickersville, 249 

Sickles, Gen., 104 

Sigel, Gen., commands Dept. of 
W. Va., 240; defeat at New- 
market, 240 

Swinton, Wm., correspondent of 
N. Y. Times, 317 

Swinton 's History of the Army of 
the Potomac, 201 

Smith, A. J., 206 

Smith, Col. B. F., 366 

Smith, W. F., Gen., 45 

Smith, Gen., sent to White House, 
224 

Smith, Dr., of Amherst, 316 

Smithsonian Institute, burning 
of, 325 

Sixth Army Corps: Gen. Sedgwick 
commands, 74; reviewed by 
President, 78; Col. Johns's col- 
umn, 84; at New Windsor, 99; 
at Little Round Top, 105; at 
Chantilly, 121; to Rappahan- 
nock, 122; attempts to release 
prisoners, 135; at Germanna 
Ford, 142; losses at Wilderness, 
151 ; never stampeded, 155; loses 
officers, 161; at Alsop's, 163; at 



Index 



377 



Sixth Army Corps — Continued 
the Salient, 178; Bloody Angle, 
182; at Spottsylvania , 203; 
losses, 207; entangled in swamp, 
209; at Old Cold Harbor, 210; 
losses, 213; at Petersburg, 222; 
attack on Salient, 237; saving 
Washington, 241 ; to Petersburg, 
253 ; at Cedar Creek, 285 ; desert- 
ers from Rebels, 322; hospital, 
332 ; at Fort Stedman, 340; held 
for service in Va., 341 ; reviewed 
by Lincoln, 341 ; great record, 
343; brigades of, 349; 1st Brig., 
1st Div., 349; 2d Brig., 1st Div., 
352; 3d Brig., 1st Div., 355; 
1st. Brig., 2d Div., 358; 2d 
Brig., 2d Div., 361; 3d Brig., 
2d Div., 362; 2d Brig., 2d 
Div., 364; 1st Brig., 3d Div., 
365; 2d Brig., 3d Div., 366 

Sloane, Col., killed at Bull Run, 

44 

Society of Colonial Governors, ix 

Society of Mayflower Descend- 
ants, viii 

Society of Sons of the Revolution, 
viii 

Society of Colonial Wars, ix 

Schroeder, Eliza M., married M. 
W. Tyler, ix 

Soldiers' Relief Barracks, 36 

Schofield, Gen., at Cape Fear, 327 

Schofield and Terry capture Wil- 
mington, 334 

Scott, Gen., retired, 16 

Spottsylvania Court-House, 163, 
167, 200, 203, 207 

Spottsylvania, Salient of, 164; 
Confederate defenses at, 212 

South Mountain Pass, 53; no 

South threatens to secede, 6 

South Side Railroad, 336 

Stuart, Gen., 51 ; cavalry, 98, 100; 
under Lee, 158; death of, 201 

Summit Point, skirmish at, 270; 
Union lines at, 275 

Summit Station, 216 

Sumner, Gen., 64 

Sumner, Senator, from Mass., 6 

Stutz, Jacob, 350 

Ta River, halt at, 207 

Thacher, Rev. Thos., pastor 

Old South Church, vi 
Tracy, Capt. W. C, death of, 233 



Tracy, J. Evarts, 233 

Traveller, steamer, 342 

Taylor, Joe, 59 

Taylor's International Hotel, 317 

Taylor's Ford, 209 

Treat, Richard, vi 

"Telegraph Road," the, 207 

Tremain, Gen., partner of M. W. 
Tyler, ix 

Tennallytown, 246, 255 

Twentieth Mass., History of, 170 

Terry, Gen., at Rappahannock, 
122; Fort River Expedition, 323 

Thirty -Seventh Regt., Bowen's His- 
tory of, 106 

Thirty-Seventh Mass. Vols.: at 
Camp Briggs, 27; at Jersey 
City, 33; reach Washington, 35; 
picket duty, 37; in Capitol 
grounds, 40; joins Sixth Corps, 
45; to Williamsport, 50; in 
Virginia, 54; picket duty, 59; 
"Camp Misery," 62 f crosses 
Rappahannock, 65; at Marye's 
Heights, 83 ; checks Confederate 
advance, 86; praised by Gen. 
Newton, 90; at Little Round 
Top, 103; at Gettysburg, no; 
sent to New York, 115; at Fort 
Hamilton, 117; ordered to 
Washington, 119; with Wheat- 
on's brigade, 123; win at base- 
ball, 125; to Brandy Station, 
129; at Wilderness, 139; check 
Rebel advance, 147; Col. Mon- 
tague commands, 167; losses, 
207 ; at Old Cold Harbor, 2 1 1 ; 2 d 
Rhode Island attached to, 214; 
receives men of 10th Mass., 
228; transferred to 3d Brigade, 
237; Shenandoah Valley, 241; 
to Washington, 241; to City 
Point, 242 ; on skirmish line, 244; 
relieved by nth Vermont, 246; 
at Poolesville, 247; at Clark's 
Gap, 248; recross Shenandoah, 
250; attack by Mosby, 250; 
inspection by Capt. Tyler, 251 ; 
to Halltown, 253; at Frede- 
rick, 256; to Buckeyeville, 261; 
Monocacy River, 263 ; through 
Charlestown, 266; Cedar Creek, 
268; at Shenandoah, 271 ; Col. 
Montague commands, 272; at 
Cedar Creek, 284; at Winches- 
ter, 284; sent to Petersburg, 315 ; 



378 



Index 



Thirty- Seventh Mass. Vols. 

Continued 
Donnelly commands, 315; 
praised by Col. Edwards, 339; 
review at Washington, 342; 
mustered out, 342; praised by 
Meade, 347 

Todd, Rev. Dr., 32 

Thomas, Gen., 126 

Tompkins, Col. C. H., 207, 225 

Torbert's brigade, 136 

Tuckerman, Mrs., 292 

Tyler, John, Capt., vi 

Tyler, President John, residence 
of, 217 

Tyler, John, Jr., Revolutionary 
patriot, vi 

Tyler, Carrie, 332 

Tyler, Henry, letters to, 123, 238, 
302,312,313,319,329,333 

Tyler, Mason W.; birthplace, 4; 
enters college, 9; threatened 
with consumption, 20; appoint- 
ed 2d Lieut., 26; appeals for 
volunteers, 26; joins 37th Mass. 
Vols., 27; starts for Washington, 
32; reaches Washington, 35; 
joins Devens's brigade, 39; 
meets Gen. Casey, 41; picket 
duty, 49; Thanksgiving dinner, 
60; at Camp Misery, 62 ; visited 
by father, 69; appointed Cap- 
tain, 70; commands Devens's 
brigade, 70; dainties from home, 
77; at Marye's Heights, 83; 
praised by officers, 91 ; at Get- 
tysburg, 103; Pickett's men sur- 
render, 109; escapes bullet, III; 
at New York draft, 116; visits 
Amherst, 119; Police Commis- 
sioner, 119; at Warren ton, 122; 
meets Lincoln, 132; Judge Ad- 
vocate, 134; attempts to release 
prisoners, 135; acts as scout, 
149; escape at Wilderness, 149; 
at Chancellorsville, 164; at the 
Salient, 176; Bloody Angle, 190; 
joins Gen. Neill, 206; at Cold 
Harbor, 220; praises Gen. Neill, 
232; joins Col. Edwards, 232; 
reaches Washington, 243; suf- 
fers from malaria, 254; appoint- 
ed Judge Advocate, 269; at 
Winchester, 277; wounded, 282; 
meets Sheridan, 296; goes to 
Amherst, 314; at Binghamton, 



316; Christmas at New Milford, 
316; at Washington, 317; visits 
Lincoln, 317; brevetted Major, 
318; admires Lee, 335; com- 
mands regiment, 336; com- 
missioned Major, 338 ; wounded, 
339; returns to Amherst, 341; 
feast at Springfield, 342; letters 
to brothers, 123, 238, 273, 287, 

300, 302, 312, 313, 319, 328, 
3 2 9. 333- 336; letters to M. F. 
Dickinson, 230, 232, 264, 271, 
292, 294; letters from father, 
255, 286; letters from mother, 
236; letters from White Oak 
Church, 75, 79; letters to father, 
2 35. 259. 306, 311, 325; letters 
to mother, 41, 78,131,228,233, 
234, 257,268,301,303,308,309, 
319, 320, 324, 326, 331, 335; 
letters to parents, 47, 57, 66, 91 , 
94, 123, 125, 128, 130, 133, 261, 
265, 267, 276, 290, 294, 298, 

304- 339 

Tyler, William, letters to, 273, 
287, 302, 328 

Tyler, Mrs. W. S., letter of July 
2, 1864, 236; letter of July 
5, 1864, 236; letters to, 41, 66, 
78, 91, 94, 123, 125, 128, 130, 
131 , 133, 228, 233, 234, 257, 261 , 
265, 267, 268, 276, 290, 294, 298, 

301 , 304, 308, 309, 319, 320, 324, 
326, 331, 335, 339 

Tyler, W. S., at Amherst, v; letter 
from Binghamton, 255; letter 
from Amherst, 286; letters to, 
66, 91, 94, 123, 125, 128, 130, 
133.235. 259, 261, 265,267,276, 
290, 294, 298, 304, 306, 311 , 325, 

389 
Tyler & Durand, vii 
Tyler & Tyler, vii 

Upperville, 5, 11 1 
Union Army, near Frederick, 98 
Union, village of, 54; halt at, 1 1 1 
Upton, Gen., at the Salient, 167, 

192; attack on Salient, 237; 

wounded, 278; reports by, 197, 

281, 352 

Vance, Col., Indiana regiment, 19, 

77 

Vaughan Road, 316 
Verdierville, 128 



Index 



379 



Vermont Brigade, 134, 182, 227, 

.234. 36i 
Vicksburg, 137 
Virginia, flagship, 324 

Wadsworth's division, 145 
Walker, Frank, 19, 43, 57, 68, 128 
Wallace, Gen., in Maryland, 241 
Warren ton Junction, 114; letter 

from, 121 
Warren's History of Second Army 

Corps, 105 
Warren, Gen., at Round Top, 104; 

at the Salient, 181; at North 

Anna River, 208 
Washburn, Mr., 317 
Washington's Birthday at Camp 

Warren, 333 
Watts's Hill, 213 
Wheaton, F. W., letter to Maj. 

Whittier, 318 
Webster, Daniel, 6 
Wheaton, Gen., at Round Top, 

105; at the Salient, 180; reports 

battle, 244; saves the day, 330; 

report by, 358 
Wheaton 's brigade, 113, 204, 227, 

358 
"Wheatfield, " the, 106, 139 
Wilderness, Battle of, 139, 151, 

156, 158, 194, 200 
Williamsport, 43, 50 
White Plains, Va., 55 
White's Ford, 47 
Weitzel's corps, 337 
Weldon Railroad, 223, 232 
Wells, Col. Geo. D., 283 
Welles, Thos., Governor of Conn., 

v; ancestor of M. W. Tyler, vi 
Wright, Gen., at Wilderness, 156; 



commands Sixth Corps, 166; 
wounded, 181; at City Point, 
241; at Fort Stevens, 243; re- 
ceives orders from Grant, 253; 
report on deserters, 321; dis- 
places Edwards, 325; circular 
to Sixth Corps, 334; praised by 
Grant, 344 

Wilcox Landing, camp at, 217 

Wilderness Tavern, 142 

Willet, Thomas, first Mayor New 
York, v 

Willoughby Run, 101 

Williamsburg, Battle of, 237 

Williamsport, no 

Williams, S., Ass't Adj.-Gen., 
114 

Wilmington, N. C, capture of, 
334 

Wilson, Gen., 275 

Wilson's division, 212 

Wilson's cavalry, 235 

Winchester, Battle of, 275; Sheri- 
dan at, 297 

White Oak Church, letters from, 

™ 75 ' 79 

Whiting, Rev. S., vi 

Whiting, Dr., W. experiments in 

gunpowder, vi 
Whittier, Maj. C. A., letter from 

Wheaton, 318 
White, Corporal David, capture 

by, 345 
White Post, 275 
Wofford's brigade, 107 

Yorktown besieged, 21 

Young, Capt., escape of, 229; 

leads scouts, 250; captures 

scout, 321 



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